How Priming Affects Speech in Children Who Stutter
Author Information
Author(s): Ceri Savage, Peter Howell
Primary Institution: The Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London
Hypothesis
Does priming different components of a sentence affect fluency in children who stutter compared to those who do not?
Conclusion
Children who stutter are more fluent after being primed with function words than content words, and this effect is greater than in children who do not stutter.
Supporting Evidence
- Children who stutter produced fewer disfluencies after being primed with content words compared to function words.
- Priming with function words led to longer pauses before producing content words.
- Children who stutter had slower speech initiation times than those who do not.
Takeaway
When kids who stutter hear certain words before speaking, it helps them talk more smoothly. This works better for some types of words than others.
Methodology
The study involved 24 children, split into those who stutter and those who do not, and measured their fluency after auditory priming with function or content words.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in participant selection from a specific database may limit the diversity of the sample.
Limitations
The study's findings may not generalize to older children or adults, and the sample size was relatively small.
Participant Demographics
12 children who stutter (10 males, 2 females) aged 3:10 to 8:11 and 12 children who do not stutter (10 males, 2 females) aged 3:9 to 8:9.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.01
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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