Frequency of speech disruptions in Parkinson's Disease and developmental stuttering: A comparison among speech tasks.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the frequency of speech disruptions across different speech tasks, comparing the performance of individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and DS. METHOD: Participants were 20 people with PD, 20 people with DS and 40 fluent individuals. Speech samples were recorded during monologue speech, choral and solo oral reading. Transcriptions of 200 fluent syllables were performed to identify stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) and other disfluencies (ODs). RESULTS: People with PD presented significantly less speech disruptions when compared to people with DS, but significantly more speech disruptions than the control group. Stuttering-like disfluencies ocurred more frequently during monologue speech and solo oral reading for both PD and DS, whereas the control group did not present difference between these tasks. CONCLUSION: The stuttering pattern presented by people with PD is different from what is usually described as being neurogenic stuttering.

Psychiatric disorders in a patient with persistent developmental stuttering.

Persistent developmental stuttering (PDS) is a common disorder of speech with no identifiable cause. Psychiatric disorders appear to be related and influence clinical manifestation of PDS. In this case report, we present the clinical evolution of 1 PDS patient submitted to pharmacological treatment with fluoxetine and speech therapy intervention. At the end of 12 weeks of treatment, she evolved from 28 at Beck Depression Inventory; 32 in the Hamilton Scale for Anxiety; 43 and 47, respectively, in the anxiety and avoidance components of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; and severe speech impairment according Iowa Scale, to 12 at Beck Depression Inventory; 8 at Hamilton Scale for Anxiety; 25 and 21 at Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale anxiety and avoidance components, respectively; and moderate speech impairment. Diagnosing and treating psychiatric symptoms in addition to speech therapy appears to be the best therapeutic approach.

Phenomenology of abnormal movements in stuttering.

BACKGROUND: Stuttering is often accompanied by involuntary movements, abnormal gestures or changes in facial expression. OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence and phenomenology of abnormal movements (AMs) in stuttering patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-five consecutive patients with stuttering and 119 normal controls videotaped and subsequently reviewed, in which AMs were classified as voluntary or involuntary, and as concurrent or unrelated to speech. Movement phenomenology was correlated with disease severity. RESULTS: Of 85 stuttering patients studied, 51.7% had AMs and 22 more than one AM. Sixty-six different AMs were identified, of which 83.3% occurred during speech, 72.7% were classified as involuntary, and 27.2% as voluntary. Of 38 involuntary movements concurrent to speech, 25 were originally perceived as voluntary, but had since become involuntary through repeated use during stuttering. All involuntary movements not concurrent to speech fulfilled criteria for tics. CONCLUSION: AMs occurring during stuttering were not always involuntary; movements not concurrent with speech clearly fulfilled clinical criteria for tics and were similar in incidence to normal controls. Inverse correlation was found between conscious control of movement during speech and stuttering severity. Many involuntary movements occurring during speech were clearly referred by patients as initially voluntary early on in the development of their speech disorder (starters or unblockers), underlining the importance of repetitive use of complex motor sequences as a source for putative involuntary movement genesis.