Speech Disfluency Types of Fluent and Stuttering Individuals: Age Effects

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to quantify and compare the typology of speech disruptions presented by stuttering and fluent Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children, adolescents and adults. Subjects and Methods: Participants were 150 individuals, with ages between 4.0 and 49.11 years, who were divided into six groups: children who stutter (n = 25), children who do not stutter (n = 25), adolescents who stutter (n = 25), adolescents who do not stutter (n = 25), adults who stutter (n = 25) and adults who do not stutter (n = 25). For each participant, the frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies (SLD) and other disfluencies was calculated based on the video recordings of spontaneous speech samples. Results: The results obtained for SLD were significant when comparing stuttering and fluent individuals. In children who stutter, adolescents who stutter, and adults who stutter, a higher frequency of SLD was found. Other disfluencies did not differentiate the groups. Conclusion: The age factor did not qualify quantitatively any of the groups, but indicated qualitative differences (in terms of the type of speech disfluencies) between groups. The results revealed similarities when compared with studies carried out in different languages. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel