The overall objective of the project is to study the epidemiology and pathognomonic development of stuttering in early childhood with special reference to identification of subgroups of stutterers and isolation of factors that are predictive of spontaneous recovery or of chronic stuttering.
The specific aims are to test the hypotheses that severity, chronicity and recovery of stuttering are related to (a) symptom pattern, (b)onset type and age at onset, (c) health, (d) articulatory-phonologic and language skills, (e) gender, and (f) underlying genetic liability to the disorder. Such data on the formative stages of stuttering will generate information responding to several important needs. First, it will allow for early diagnosis of stuttering as a clinical entity. Second, it will allow for early identification of high-risk, low-risk, and no-risk incipient stutterers. Third, it will provide a rational basis for decision-making concerning timing of clinical intervention. Fourth, it will promote differentiation in treatment specific to the characteristics of the disorder at each stage. Finally, subgrouping of stuttering will greatly improve all aspects of theoretical and clinical research of stuttering. To accomplish these objectives, 120 young children who stutter will be studied longitudinally from onset of the disorder through a period of four to six years. Many characteristics of stuttering will be observed and recorded periodically. Data will be obtained from medical and developmental records, genetic analyses, analyses of the frequency/type counts of stuttering behaviors in audio and video recordings, severity measures, acoustic analyses of speech signals, tests of phonologic/language skills, anxiety, and nonverbal function. Some comparisons will be made with 40 nonstuttering children as controls. By applying various statistical methods to data obtained from the same subjects at frequent intervals, it will be possible to discern subgroups that emerge along diverging developmental trends in relation to the various parameters under investigation mentioned above. It will also be possible to determine the rate, magnitude, and timing of remission, and make reasonably accurate risk estimates for individual patients (subjects) regarding chances of enduring a chronic disorder.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01DC000459-05A1
Application #
2125678
Study Section
Sensory Disorders and Language Study Section (CMS)
Project Start
1989-06-01
Project End
1997-11-30
Budget Start
1993-12-01
Budget End
1994-11-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1994
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
041544081
City
Champaign
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
61820
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Gregg, Brent Andrew; Yairi, Ehud (2012) Disfluency patterns and phonological skills near stuttering onset. J Commun Disord 45:426-38
Proctor, Adele; Yairi, Ehud; Duff, Melissa C et al. (2008) Prevalence of stuttering in African American preschoolers. J Speech Lang Hear Res 51:1465-79
Sawyer, Jean; Chon, Heecheong; Ambrose, Nicoline G (2008) Influences of rate, length, and complexity on speech disfluency in a single-speech sample in preschool children who stutter. J Fluency Disord 33:220-40
Duff, Melissa C; Proctor, Adele; Yairi, Ehud (2004) Prevalence of voice disorders in African American and European American preschoolers. J Voice 18:348-53
Subramanian, Anu; Yairi, Ehud; Amir, Ofer (2003) Second formant transitions in fluent speech of persistent and recovered preschool children who stutter. J Commun Disord 36:59-75
Amir, Ofer; Yairi, Ehud (2002) The effect of temporal manipulation on the perception of disfluencies as normal or stuttering. J Commun Disord 35:63-82
Paden, Elaine Pagel; Ambrose, Nicoline Grinager; Yairi, Ehud (2002) Phonological progress during the first 2 years of stuttering. J Speech Lang Hear Res 45:256-67
Ezrati-Vinacour, R; Platzky, R; Yairi, E (2001) The young child's awareness of stuttering-like disfluency. J Speech Lang Hear Res 44:368-80
Throneburg, R N; Yairi, E (2001) Durational, proportionate, and absolute frequency characteristic of disfluencies: a longitudinal study regarding persistence and recovery. J Speech Lang Hear Res 44:38-51

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