Experimental Analysis of the Relationship Between Speaking Rate and Stuttering During Mother–Child Conversation II

This is the second study to investigate the relationship between stuttering and speaking rates in a 3; 8 male child who stuttered and the child’s mother during conversations. A single-subject experimental time-series design (ABA) was used to investigate the effect on the child’s stuttering by decreasing the speaking rate of the mother. Decreasing speaking rate of the mother and child produced a slight decrease in the speaking rate and a major decrease in the stuttering rate of the child not accompanied by reductions in either linguistic complexity or frequency of interruption. This was a replication of Jones and Ryan (Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 13, 279–305, 20012001). The diminished stuttering observed during manipulation generalized minimally to other speaking situations.