Language and fluency characteristics of preschoolers' multiple-utterance conversational turns. 2003

Kenneth J Logan
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-7420, USA. logan@csd.ufl.edu

The present study examined language and fluency characteristics of single-utterance (SU) and multiple-utterance (MU) conversational turns produced by 15 preschoolers who stutter and 15 age- and sex-matched preschoolers who do not stutter. Participants conversed with a parent in a play seating. Each interaction was videotaped and the participants' resultant utterances were transcribed and analyzed. Results indicated that the children's utterances from MU-turns typically served assertive functions and were significantly longer and more linguistically complex than their utterances from SU-turns. Neither group showed a significant difference in disfluency rate for length-matched utterances from MU- and SU-turns. Similarly, there were no significant between-group differences in speaking-turn length or frequency of MU-turns. Although present findings do not support the hypothesis that MU-turns directly affect children's fluency, they do suggest that MU-turns are demanding for youngsters because they evoke relatively long and complex utterances. As such, conversational turn length seems to be an important variable for clinicians to consider when assessing and treating children who stutter.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D002663 Child Language The language and sounds expressed by a child at a particular maturational stage in development. Child Languages,Language, Child,Languages, Child
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013060 Speech Communication through a system of conventional vocal symbols. Public Speaking,Speaking, Public
D013068 Speech Production Measurement Measurement of parameters of the speech product such as vocal tone, loudness, pitch, voice quality, articulation, resonance, phonation, phonetic structure and prosody. Measurement, Speech Production,Measurements, Speech Production,Production Measurement, Speech,Production Measurements, Speech,Speech Production Measurements
D015203 Reproducibility of Results The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results. Reliability and Validity,Reliability of Result,Reproducibility Of Result,Reproducibility of Finding,Validity of Result,Validity of Results,Face Validity,Reliability (Epidemiology),Reliability of Results,Reproducibility of Findings,Test-Retest Reliability,Validity (Epidemiology),Finding Reproducibilities,Finding Reproducibility,Of Result, Reproducibility,Of Results, Reproducibility,Reliabilities, Test-Retest,Reliability, Test-Retest,Result Reliabilities,Result Reliability,Result Validities,Result Validity,Result, Reproducibility Of,Results, Reproducibility Of,Test Retest Reliability,Validity and Reliability,Validity, Face

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