Review
Subtyping stuttering II: Contributions from language and temperament

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Abstract

This paper is the second in a series of two articles exploring subtypes of stuttering, and it addresses the question of whether and how language ability and temperament variables may be relevant to the study of subtypes within the larger population of children who stutter. Despite observations of varied profiles among young children who stutter, efforts to identify and characterize subtypes of stuttering have had limited influence on theoretical or clinical understanding of the disorder. This manuscript briefly highlights research on language and temperament in young children who stutter, and considers whether the results can provide guidance for efforts to more effectively investigate and elucidate subtypes in childhood stuttering. Issues from the literature that appear relevant to research on stuttering subtypes include: (a) the question of whether stuttering is best characterized as categorical or continuous; (b) interpretation of individual differences in skills and profiles; and (c) the fact that, during the preschool years, the interaction among domains such as language and temperament are changing very rapidly, resulting in large differences in developmental profiles within relatively brief chronological age periods.

Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) discuss possible associations of language ability and temperament to the development of stuttering in young children; (2) summarize the subtyping research from the literature on language ability and temperament in young children; (3) generate directions for future research of stuttering subtypes drawn from the literature related to language ability and temperament in young children.

Section snippets

Review of selected literature: stuttering and child language

The connection between language and stuttering in young children is intuitive. Yairi (1983), Bernstein Ratner (1997), and other scholars, observed that stuttering onset coincides with a time of rapid expansion in expressive and receptive language ability (i.e., stuttering most typically begins in 24- to 48-month-old children). During this period children are acquiring new words at a rate of 9–10 per day, expanding and refining their grammatical structures, and learning social uses of language

Subtypes in language disability

In the broad field of language disability, there are several widely-used descriptive subtyping systems. In the adult aphasia literature, the distinction between expressive language problems and global difficulties with both expressive and receptive language is often linked to site of lesion and well-established in clinical application. In early childhood language, research and clinical literature in childhood language disability distinguishes between children with receptive language

Review of selected literature: stuttering and child temperament

Attributing the disorder of stuttering to certain personality characteristics, various emotional conflicts and maladjustments, and psychopathological conditions can be traced back to ancient times. Wingate (1997, p. 14) notes that Aristotle, who lived in the 4th century B.C., wrote in his book, Problemata, that stuttering is provoked by nervousness, a form of fear, that creates coldness. Psychological conditions have been suspected to be contributing factors not only to stuttering onset, but

Subtypes in temperament

Generally, research on child temperament has observed a tradition of utilizing typological terms. Several different systems of subtyping child temperament have been developed. For example, Thomas, Chess, & Birch's (1968) landmark longitudinal study of temperament was based on data rating infants on nine aspects of temperament: mood, approach-withdrawal (reaction to novelty), adaptability (to changes in routine), intensity, rhythmicity or predictability (body rhythms: sleep-wake cycles etc.),

Common insights from the domains of language and temperament

Can these findings offer guidance for the study of stuttering in young children, particularly the effort to characterize subtypes and risk factors? At least two general recommendations appear relevant. First, it does appear valuable to address the question of whether stuttering in young children better conforms to a categorically different developmental pathway, or whether a continuous ability is suggested. This is a fundamental question with far-reaching implications for understanding the

Integrating domains: Directions for future research

In a broad sense, future stuttering research could draw from the child language and temperament literature with particular focus on: (1) contrasting areas of relative strength and weakness, particularly in terms of illuminating differences and varied profiles of development, and (2) probing for certain linguistic skill gaps and/or temperamental response patterns that may be revealed only at developmentally sensitive time points and with appropriate measurement techniques. Both of these

Acknowledgement

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) Grant #R01DC05210, Subtypes and Associated Risk Factors in Stuttering. Principal Investigators: Nicoline Ambrose and Ehud Yairi.

Carol Hubbard Seery earned her PhD at the University of Washington-Seattle. She is the Graduate Program Coordinator and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her focus of research and clinical specialization is in speech fluency and stuttering.

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    Carol Hubbard Seery earned her PhD at the University of Washington-Seattle. She is the Graduate Program Coordinator and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her focus of research and clinical specialization is in speech fluency and stuttering.

    Ruth Watkins earned her PhD at the University of Kansas. She serves as Vice Provost for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She provides leadership in the areas of academic affairs, faculty affairs, and strategic planning and implementation. A fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, she is a professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. Her research focuses on communication development and disabilities in young children.

    Sarah Mangelsdorf earned her PhD at the University of Minnesota. She is a Professor of Psychology, and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her areas of expertise include early socioemotional development, attachment, temperament and emotion regulation.

    Aya Shigeto is a PhD doctoral candidate in the developmental division of the department of psychology at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She is conducting research in the area of parental and child influences on family interaction patterns, and the implications of those patterns for young children's social-emotional development.

    1

    Present address: 217 Swanlund Admin. Building, 601 East John Street, Champaign, IL 61820, United States. Tel.: +1 217 333 6677; fax: +1 217 244 5639.

    2

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820, United States. Tel.: +1 217 333 1350/244 0672; fax: +1 217 244 5876.

    3

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820, United States. Tel.: +1 217 333 0631; fax: +1 217 244 5876.

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