A Preliminary Study of Speech Rhythm Differences as Markers of Stuttering Persistence in Preschool-Age Children

Autor/inn/en	Erdemir, Aysu; Walden, Tedra A.; Tilsen, Sam; Mefferd, Antje S.; Jones, Robin M.
Titel	A Preliminary Study of Speech Rhythm Differences as Markers of Stuttering Persistence in Preschool-Age Children
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66 (2023) 3, S.931-950 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Erdemir, Aysu) ORCID (Mefferd, Antje S.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
Schlagwörter	Speech Communication; Language Rhythm; Stuttering; Preschool Children; Speech Improvement; Picture Books; Regression (Statistics); Persistence; Prediction + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachrhythmus; Stammer; Stottern; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Sprechentwicklung; Picture book; Bilderbuch; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Ausdauer; Vorhersage
Abstract	Purpose: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine whether there are speech rhythm differences between preschool-age children who stutter that were eventually diagnosed as persisting (CWS-Per) or recovered (CWS-Rec) and children who do not stutter (CWNS), using empirical spectral analysis and empirical mode decomposition of the speech amplitude envelope; and (2) to determine whether speech rhythm characteristics close to onset are predictive of later persistence. Method: Fifty children (3-4 years of age) participated in the study. Approximately 2-2.5 years after the experimental testing took place, children were assigned to the following groups: CWS-Per (nine boys, one girl), CWS-Rec (18 boys, two girls), and CWNS (18 boys, two girls). All children produced a narrative based on a text-free storybook. From the audio recordings of these narratives, fluent utterances were selected for each child from which seven envelope-based measures were extracted. Group-based differences on each measure as well as predictive analyses were conducted to identify measures that discriminate CWS-Per versus CWS-Rec. Results: CWS-Per were found to have a relatively higher degree of power in suprasyllabic oscillations and greater variability in the timing of syllabic rhythms especially for longer utterances. A logistic regression model using two speech rhythm measures was able to discriminate the eventual outcome of recovery versus persistence, with 80% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Conclusion: Findings suggest that envelope-based speech rhythm measures are a promising approach to assess speech rhythm differences in developmental stuttering, and its potential for identification of children at risk of developing persistent stuttering should be investigated further. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01