Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Stigma And The Hispanic Stuttering Experience: A Qualitative Study, Leslee Dean

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The stigmatization of stuttering has profound effects on the education, employment, and mental health of people who stutter. While there is a large body of research into the impact of stuttering stigma, few studies have considered the effects of cultural differences. The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of how Hispanic adults who stutter experience stigma. To do so, seven Hispanic/Latino adults who stutter were interviewed using ethnographic interviewing techniques. A thematic analysis of participants’ narrative responses gave rise to four major themes: Family, Stigma in Society, Stuttering Experiences in Cultural and Linguistic Contexts, and Stigma’s …

Script Training For Adults Who Stutter, Courtney M. Rankin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Treatment for adulthood stuttering traditionally focuses on some combination of stuttering management and fluency management and may also target emotional and cognitive reactions to stuttering. However, long-term gains are often limited, and there is a need for continued development of approaches for mitigating impacts of stuttering. We know of no evidence-based therapy approaches designed to target functional communication in adults who stutter (AWS), despite widespread interest in improving functional communication in members of this speaker group. Script training is an intervention approach designed to improve accuracy and automaticity in functional communication. Script training was originally designed for use with adults …

Dual Task Effects On Story Retell For Participants With Moderate, Mild, Or No Aphasia: Quantitative And Qualitative Findings, Tyson G. Harmon, Adam Jacks, Katarina L. Haley, Antoine Bailliard

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To determine dual task effects on content accuracy, delivery speed, and perceived effort during narrative discourse in people with moderate, mild, or no aphasia and to explore subjective reactions to retelling a story with a concurrent task.

Method: Two studies (one quantitative and one qualitative) were conducted. In study 1, participants with mild or moderate aphasia and neurotypical controls retold short stories in isolation and while simultaneously distinguishing between high and low tones. Story retell accuracy (speech productivity and efficiency), speed (speech rate, repetitions, and pauses), and perceived effort were measured and compared. In study 2, participants completed semi-structured …

The Effects Of Altered Auditory Feedback (Aaf) On Fluency In Adults Who Stutter: A Systematic Review, Sarah A. Romeiser, Sullivan J. Kiley, Nicholas J. Nocella

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Systematic Review Publications

Background and Objectives: Stuttering affects 70 million people worldwide, which is about 1% of the population. Altered auditory feedback (AAF) is a process by which an individual’s auditory speech signal is electronically changed to temporarily increase the fluency of a person who stutters. For the purpose of this systematic review, AAF includes delayed auditory feedback (DAF) and frequency-altered feedback (FAF). This systematic review examines fluency enhancement in adults who stutter when using AAF devices.

Methods: A review of the literature was searched using PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases with key search terms related to stuttering and AAF. Inclusion …

Speech Fluency In Acquired Apraxia Of Speech During Narrative Discourse: Group Comparisons And Dual Task Effects, Tyson G. Harmon, Adam Jacks, Katarina L. Haley

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Slowed speech and interruptions to the flow of connected speech are common in aphasia. These features are also observed during dual task performance for neurotypical adults. The purposes of this study were to determine (a) whether indices of fluency related to cognitive-linguistic versus motor processing would differ between speakers with aphasia plus AOS and speakers with aphasia only and (b) whether cognitive load reduces fluency in speakers with aphasia with and without AOS.

Method: Fourteen speakers with aphasia (seven with AOS) and seven neurotypical controls retold short stories alone (single task) and while simultaneously distinguishing between a high and …

Expressed Parental Concern Regarding Childhood Stuttering And The Test Of Childhood Stuttering, Victoria Tumanova, Dahye Choi, Edward G. Conture, Tedra A. Walden

Communication Sciences and Disorders - All Scholarship

Purpose—The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the Test of Childhood Stuttering observational rating scales (TOCS; Gillam, Logan & Pearson, 2009) (1) differed between parents who did versus did not express concern (independent from the TOCS) about their child’s speech fluency; (2) correlated with children’s frequency of stuttering measured during a child-examiner conversation; and (3) correlated with the length and complexity of children’s utterances, as indexed by mean length of utterance (MLU).

Method—Participants were 183 young children ages 3:0 to 5:11. Ninety-one had parents who reported concern about their child’s stuttering (65 boys, 26 girls) and 92 …

Medication Use In Adults Who Stutter, Hailey Renee Guillot

LSU Master's Theses

Previous studies have associated stuttering with increased levels of self-stigma. Prior research has shown that high levels of self-stigma may relate to increased medication usage. Therefore, in the present study, the authors sought to determine an association between levels of self-stigma and medication usage among adults who stutter. Results suggest that although there is not a significant difference for lifetime medication use between AWS versus AWNS, the self-imposed stigma by AWS could predict the likelihood of medication use. Findings provide insight into additional pharmacological factors to consider during clinical intervention, and highlight the importance of stigmatized beliefs when addressing the …

Effects Of A Novel Right Brain Intervention On Stuttering In Familiar And Structured Speech Tasks, Josalyn Elizabeth Perry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over 3 million Americans are disfluent due to developmental stuttering. Current evidence-based treatments typically consist of a rigorous schedule of intensive therapy, followed by the need for maintenance of skills, placing high demands on self-monitoring of one’s speech at all times. Relapse after treatment is very common, at 84%. The demand for further research into treatment possibilities for stuttering is on the forefront. Previous research has connected neural activations in people who stutter (PWS) and people with chronic nonfluent aphasia. The aim of this study was to determine if a novel intervention, based on a treatment for anomia, would change …

Effects Of A Novel Right Brain Intervention On Stuttering Frequency In Unfamiliar Speech Tasks, Chelsea Beatrice Stewart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Developmental stuttering persists in approximately 1% of the United States population. Stuttering has been shown to impact overall quality of life. The present study examines the effects of a Novel Right Brain Intervention on two female participants with persistent developmental stuttering. The aim of the study was to determine whether encouraging greater activation of the right hemisphere, specifically the pre-SMA, via complex left-handed movements, prior to speech production, would lead to a reduced stuttering frequency and severity in people who stutter (PWS). It was hypothesized that each participant would reduce stuttering symptoms and behaviors following the intervention due to the …

The Effect Of Easy Onset Time Treatment On Voice Onset Time In Stuttering, Candace M. Franklin

Honors Theses

For over 70 million people who stutter, it is a disorder that can affect a person’s social, emotional, and professional life on a daily basis (Gordon, 2002). Stuttering is defined as a fluency disorder that includes the repetition of words, pauses in speech, or sound prolongation (Hedge, 2001). Although there are many different theories as to what causes stuttering, the etiology of stuttering remains undetermined. As a result, much research has been done on various treatment approaches to try and ease the effects of stuttering. One particular approach is the Easy Onset Time approach. This approach encourages the client to …

Listener Perceptions Of Simulated Fluent Speech In Nonfluent Aphasia, Tyson G. Harmon, Adam Jacks, Katarina L. Haley, Richard A. Faldowski

Faculty Publications

Background: People with aphasia (PWA) are frequently perceived less favorably by listeners than their peers. These perceptions include incorrect assumptions that can prevent successful social interactions. While communication partner training has been shown to improve social outcomes related to the listener (see e.g., Kagan, Black, Duchan, Simmons-Mackie, & Square, 2001), changing the verbal output of PWA may also yield more favorable listener perceptions about the speech, speaker, and their own affective response. We investigated the effects of artificially altered fluency (i.e., simulated fluency) on listeners’ subjective impressions.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to (1) confirm that listeners perceive …

Reading Intervention Using Interactive Metronome Treatment, Denise Lewis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research study was to examine the effects of Interactive Metronome (IM), a non-academic treatment, when integrated with reading intervention. The intention was to analyze the degree to which IM affected fluency when introduced alongside reading intervention. The research questions that guided this study focused on how internal timekeeping affects reading fluency. This study used a multiple baseline across participant’s single-subject design. Three participants were monitored to determine a baseline using Curriculum Based Measures and Correct Word Per Minute data, and then each received a total of 15 hours of Interactive Metronome treatment. Progress was documented with …

Outcomes Of A Combined Mindfulness, Stuttering Modification, And Fluency Shaping Intervention For Children Who Stutter, Jennifer Kordell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A week-long intervention for five school-age children who stutter was implemented using techniques of fluency shaping, stuttering management, and mindfulness training. The purpose of this study was to investigate if children who stutter stuttered less frequently, stuttered with less struggle, and demonstrated changes in mindfulness measures after the completion of this week-long intervention. Pre- to post-treatment measures were analyzed by individual and group-level results. A comparative analysis between reading and narrative tasks was also performed. Findings indicate that three out of five children reduced the total number of disfluencies during the reading task, and two children reduced this total during …

When Less Can Be More: Dual Task Effects In Stuttering And Fluent Adults, Naomi Nechama Eichorn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study tested the counterintuitive hypothesis that engaging cognitive resources in a secondary task while speaking could benefit aspects of speech production. Effects of dual task conditions on speech fluency, rate, and error patterns were examined in stuttering and fluent speakers based on specific predictions derived from three related theoretical frameworks. Twenty fluent adults and 19 adults with confirmed diagnoses of stuttering participated in the study. All participants completed two baseline tasks: (1) a continuous speaking task in which spontaneous speech was produced in response to given prompts; and (2) a working memory (WM) task involving manipulations of WM …

Women Who Stutter : Experiences Of Developing Self-Management And Quality Of Life, Katherine Milton

Theses : Honours

Background and Purpose: Research suggests that stuttering can impact an individual’s quality of life and how they perceive themselves in interactions with others. As a larger proportion of adults who stutter are men, limited research is available regarding the specific experiences of women who stutter (WWS). Existent literature regarding WWS was mainly published in the 1970s -1980s and may no longer represent current issues. This study aimed to explore the current influences on quality of life, perception of stuttering, self-management strategies, and gender issues experienced by WWS.

Methods and Procedures: This grounded theory study used a convenience sample of eight …

Comparison Of The Laryngeal Behavior Of A Young Stutterer Before And After Fluency Treatment, Trista Farmer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Stuttering is one of the most complex of all speech and language disorders (Caruso, Conture, & Colton, 1988). Understanding of its etiology and treatment is vague, yet growing. Much research is needed in the area of disfluency to increase our knowledge of the disorder and to provide a clearer picture of how to improve therapeutic intervention. Routine evaluation of disfluency typically includes the assessment of stuttering frequency and rate. However, as stated by Ingham (1984), the minimum evaluation data collected (fluency and rate) should be supplemented by the assessment of a number of additional aspects of speech quality (Ingham, 1984, …