Stammering

Question 1

What is fluency?

Answer 1

The effortless flow of speech

Question 2

What is stammering?

Answer 2

Abnormal high frequency and/or duration of stoppages in the forward flow of speech
-Guitar, 2014

Question 3

What are the core behaviours of stammering?

Answer 3

Repetitions, prolongations and blocks

Question 4

What behaviours can also be considered when an individual is describing their stammer?

Answer 4

Core behaviours, secondary behaviours and feelings & attitudes.

Question 5

When does stammering typically occur?

Answer 5

In childhood

Question 6

Which ways can a stammer start?

Answer 6

Sudden, gradual and intermediate

Question 7

What percentage of children experience natural/spontaneous recovery?

Answer 7

Most recent studies suggest that natural/spontaneous recovery is approximately 75% of children who ever stammered (Guitar 2014)

Question 8

What could be the cause of stammering?

Answer 8

Genetics, however, this cannot be generalised to the whole stammering population

Question 9

What does the multifactorial model consist of?

Answer 9

Psychological, Physiological, Speech and language and environmental factors

Question 10

What factors are likely to be significant in the onset and development of stammering?

Answer 10

Predisposing physiological and linguistic (speech and language) factors

Question 11

What does the interaction of all the factors contribute to?

Answer 11

The severity and persistence of the disorder, as well as the impact it has on a child and the family

Question 12

What do physiological factors include?

Answer 12

Neurological factors, genetics, auditory feedback loop, associated conditions, speech and motor skills.

Question 13

What do brain scans show differences in?

Answer 13

In the way that it looks and the way that it functions

Question 14

Which hemisphere of the brain shows overactivation when speaking?

Answer 14

Many areas of the right hemisphere when speaking

Question 15

What differences are found in the left hemisphere?

Answer 15

Differences in the left hemisphere white matter

in relation to organisation Myelin covering of fibres and reduced volume

Question 16

Where is reduced grey matter found in the brains of children who stammer?

Answer 16

Reduced grey matter in subcortical centres (children with both persistent and transient stammering)

Question 17

What did Yairri and Ambrose, 2015 state may impact children who stammer in terms of genetics?

Answer 17

Structural brain features, functional brain features, motor abnormality, personality or temperament characteristics, or others.” (Yairi and Ambrose, 2015)

Question 18

What percentage of individuals have a family history of stammering?

Answer 18

Estimated 30-60% of individuals who stammer have a family history of stammering (Yairi, Ambrose and Cox, 1996)

Question 19

Which chromosome is significantly related to stammering?

Answer 19

12

Question 20

What conditions increase the incidence in children stammering?

Answer 20

• Some degree of brain damage (Poulos & Webster, 1991)
• Down Syndrome (Bloodstein, 1995)
• Been born prematurely (Jennische & Sedin, 1999)

Question 21

What speech motor skills are affected?

Answer 21

• Reduced oro-motor skills (Kelly et al, 1995)
• Slower response times for vocal and manual tasks (Bishop et al, 1991)
• Slower consonant-vowel transitions
• Laryngeal control (Conture et al, 1986)

Question 22

What do speech and language factors include according to the Multifactoral Model?

Answer 22

Language skills, Phonological Skills, Linguistic Context and Bilingualism