Date of Award

1987

Type

Thesis

Major

Specialist in Education

Degree Type

Special Degree in Education

Department

Teacher Education

First Advisor

Dr. Thomas J. Wentland

Second Advisor

Dr. Dorothy Sutherland

Third Advisor

Dr. Joseph George

Abstract

Sixty speech-1anguage pathologists throughout the State of Georgia' served as respondents for a survey of school age stutterers exhibiting articulation errors. The questionnaire requested that children between the ages of five and 18 be reported, that dialectal and developmental errors should not be reported, and that stutterers should have been enrolled in a speech therapy program for a minimum of six months. Of those stutterers reported, the following variables were requested: race, age in months, severity of dysfluency, severity of articulation disorder, and length of time in treatment.

Results indicated that of 151 stutterers reported, 45 exhibited articulation errors. Twenty-seven were female and 117 were female. 0f those stutterers with articulation errors, 36 subjects were male, and eight subjects were female. In the stuttering population 71 were black and 73 were white. Twenty-one of the subjects with articulation disorders were black, and 23 were white.

Within the male subgroup, 36 subjects were reported as exhibiting articulation errors, although three were omitted from the study due to reporting errors. Length of time in treatment ranged from two months to 81 months. Seventeen males were white and 16 were black. Sixteen were classified as mild stutterers, 12 as moderate stutterers, and five as severe stutterers. Twenty-four subjects exhibited mild articulation disorders, seven were moderate, and two were severe. Age in months ranged from 72 months to 213 months.

Within the female subgroup, eight subjects were reported as exhibiting articulation errors. Length of time in treatment ranged from one month to 42 months. Four females were white and four were black. Three were classified as mild stutterers, four as moderate stutterers, and one as a severe stutterer. Five subjects exhibited mild articulation disorders, and three were moderate. No female stutterers were reported as exhibiting severe articulation errors.

This study found that there was a significant difference be tween stutterers without articulation disorders and stutterers with articulation disorders. It also found a larger proportion of male stutterers within the school age population, and that within this population a similar ratio exhibited articulation errors. The mean age of male and female stutterers with articulation errors was the same, although the age range reported for males was greater than for females. Race did not appear to be significant, with both the black and white populations exhibiting a similar ratio of male to female stutterers. Severity of dysfluencies and severity of articulation disorder were also similar in the male to female, black to white populations. Length of time in treatment appeared to be greater for males. than females. It is suggested that further research identify the age of onset and severity of stuttering disorder of stutterers exhibiting articulation disorders, and to determine which disorder appeared first. Also, since no other (not black or white) stutterers were reported, this population should also be researched further.

Download

Share

COinS