Speed and consistency of manual movements of stutterers, articulation- disordered children, and children with normal speech

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Abstract

Speed and consistency of manual task performances of 54 young male stutterers, articulation-disordered children, and children with normal speech (n = 18) were studied using a reaction: time/movement-time paradigm and manual tasks of two levels of complexity. There were 18 children in each of three age groups: 5–6 years, 7–8 years, 9–10 years. Results indicated that at all ages children with speech disorders were significantly slower in executing simple and complex manual tasks than children with normal speech. Normal and articulation- disordered children were less variable than stutterers in executing simple manual movements; stutterers were as variable in executing simple manual movements as complex ones. Groups did not differ on the percentage of time allotted to planning versus executing manual movements. The data suggest that speech- disordered children may exhibit some inefficiency in motor-control processes associated with execution of nonspeech behaviors.

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