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Epidemiology of Stuttering in the Community Across the Entire Life Span

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Authors:
Ashley Craig at Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health The University of Sydney
Ashley Craig
  • Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health The University of Sydney
Karen Hancock at Children's Hospital at Westmead
Karen Hancock
Yvonne Tran at Macquarie University
Yvonne Tran
Magali Craig
Magali Craig
Magali Craig
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Abstract

A randomized and stratified investigation was conducted into the epidemiology of stuttering in the community across the entire life span. Persons from households in the state of New South Wales, Australia, were asked to participate in a telephone interview. Consenting persons were given a brief introduction to the research, and details were requested concerning the number and age of the persons living in the household at the time of the interview. Interviewees were then given a description of stuttering. Based on this description, they were asked if any person living in their household stuttered (prevalence). If they answered ‘yes,’ a number of corroborative questions were asked, and permission was requested to tape over the telephone the speech of the person who stutters. Confirmation of stuttering was based on (a) a positive detection of stuttering from the tape and (b) an affirmative answer to at least one of the corroborative questions supporting the diagnosis. Results showed that the prevalence of stuttering over the whole population was 0.72%, with higher prevalence rates in younger children (1.4–1.44) and lowest rates in adolescence (0.53). Male-to-female ratios ranged from 2.3:1 in younger children to 4:1 in adolescence, with a ratio of 2.3:1 across all ages. The household member being interviewed was also asked whether anyone in the household had ever stuttered. If the answer was ‘yes,’ the same corroborative questions were asked. These data, along with the prevalence data, provided an estimate of the incidence or risk of stuttering, which was found to range from 2.1% in adults (21–50 years) to 2.8% in younger children (2–5 years) and 3.4% in older children (6–10 years). Implications of these results are discussed.
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Craig et al.:
Epidemiology of Stuttering
1097
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
• Vol. 45 • 1097–1105 • December 2002 • ©American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
1092-4388/02/4506-1097
Ashley Craig
Karen Hancock
Yvonne Tran
Magali Craig
Karen Peters
Department of Health Sciences
University of Technology
Sydney, Australia
Epidemiology of Stuttering in
the Community Across the
Entire Life Span
A randomized and stratified investigation was conducted into the epidemiology of
stuttering in the community across the entire life span. Persons from households in
the state of New South Wales, Australia, were asked to participate in a telephone
interview. Consenting persons were given a brief introduction to the research, and
details were requested concerning the number and age of the persons living in
the household at the time of the interview. Interviewees were then given a
description of stuttering. Based on this description, they were asked if any person
living in their household stuttered (prevalence). If they answered “yes,” a number
of corroborative questions were asked, and permission was requested to tape
over the telephone the speech of the person who stutters. Confirmation of
stuttering was based on (a) a positive detection of stuttering from the tape and (b)
an affirmative answer to at least one of the corroborative questions supporting the
diagnosis. Results showed that the prevalence of stuttering over the whole
population was 0.72%, with higher prevalence rates in younger children (1.4–
1.44) and lowest rates in adolescence (0.53). Male-to-female ratios ranged from
2.3:1 in younger children to 4:1 in adolescence, with a ratio of 2.3:1 across all
ages. The household member being interviewed was also asked whether anyone
in the household had ever stuttered. If the answer was “yes,” the same corrobora-
tive questions were asked. These data, along with the prevalence data, provided
an estimate of the incidence or risk of stuttering, which was found to range from
2.1% in adults (21–50 years) to 2.8% in younger children (2–5 years) and 3.4%
in older children (6–10 years). Implications of these results are discussed.
KEY WORDS: stuttering, incidence, prevalence, fluency disorders
It is important that clinicians, researchers, and health administra-
tors know the prevalence and incidence (risk) of a disorder in the
community in order to allocate sufficient resources for managing prob-
lems associated with that disorder. Stuttering is a communication dis-
order involving involuntary disfluency. It is ordinarily diagnosed early—
around age 2 in the majority of cases—and it can become a chronic
condition for up to 20% of those who stutter in their childhood (Andrews
et al., 1983; Bloodstein, 1995). Therefore, resources must be allocated to
manage stuttering in young children, adolescents, and adults. However,
the extent of the population who stutter over the total life span is not
clear, as the prevalence of stuttering in the community has only been
estimated based on studies of children (Bloodstein, 1995).
In this paper, prevalence is defined as the number of confirmed cases
of stuttering in a sample at the time the sample is interviewed. This is
known as point prevalence (Slome, Brogan, Eyres, & Lednar, 1986, p. 34).
... Stuttering typically emerges during childhood (developmental stuttering) [3,4], with an incidence of up to 10% [5,6]. Although most children recover spontaneously within a few years from the onset, around 1-2% do not, and individuals present stuttering throughout their lives [7], with a male-to-female ratio of 4 to 1 [6,8]. Stuttering can also emerge during adulthood (acquired stuttering), typically following a neurological disease or psychological trauma or as a side effect of certain medications (see, for recent works, [9][10][11]). ...
Improving Stuttering Through Augmented Multisensory Feedback Stimulation
Article
Full-text available
Background/Objectives: Stuttering is a speech disorder involving fluency disruptions like repetitions, prolongations, and blockages, often leading to emotional distress and social withdrawal. Here, we present Augmented Multisensory Feedback Stimulation (AMFS), a novel personalized intervention to improve speech fluency in people who stutter (PWS). AMFS includes a five-day intensive phase aiming at acquiring new skills, plus a reinforcement phase designed to facilitate the transfer of these skills across different contexts and their automatization into effortless behaviors. The concept of our intervention derives from the prediction of the neurocomputational model Directions into Velocities of Articulators (DIVA). The treatment applies dynamic multisensory stimulation to disrupt PWS’ maladaptive over-reliance on sensory feedback mechanisms, promoting the emergence of participants’ natural voices. Methods: Forty-six PWS and a control group, including twenty-four non-stuttering individuals, participated in this study. Stuttering severity and physiological measures, such as heart rate and electromyographic activity, were recorded before and after the intensive phase and during the reinforcement stage in the PWS but only once in the controls. Results: The results showed a significant reduction in stuttering severity at the end of the intensive phase, which was maintained during the reinforcement training. Crucially, worse performance was found in PWS than in the controls at baseline but not after the intervention. In the PWS, physiological signals showed a reduction in activity during the training phases compared to baseline. Conclusions: Our findings show that AMFS provides a promising approach to enhancing speech fluency. Future studies should clarify the mechanisms underlying such intervention and assess whether effects persist after the treatment conclusion.
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... La disfemia, comúnmente conocida como tartamudez, es un trastorno de la fluidez del habla que se manifiesta a través de interrupciones involuntarias, repeticiones, prolongaciones o bloqueos durante la comunicación verbal (Yairi & Seery, 2015). Este trastorno suele aparecer en la niñez temprana y, si no se aborda adecuadamente, puede persistir en la edad adulta, afectando significativamente la calidad de vida del individuo (Craig et al., 2003). En el contexto educativo, la disfemia puede interferir en el rendimiento académico y en las interacciones sociales de los niños, lo que subraya la necesidad de implementar estrategias metodológicas efectivas dentro del aula para apoyar a estos estudiantes. ...
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... If stuttering continues beyond adolescence it is likely to become a chronic condition significantly more difficult to treat (Bloodstein & Bernstein Ratner, 2008) and is often accompanied by cumulative negative consequences in multiple areas of life. Prevalence of stuttering across the lifespan is estimated to be 0.72 % and is higher amongst males than females at a ratio of 2.3:1 at onset increasing to 4:1 by adulthood (Craig et al., 2002;Yairi & Ambrose, 2013). ...
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Article
Full-text available
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  • J COMMUN DISORD
Purpose: Adults who stutter are at risk of developing high levels of social anxiety, leading to negative outcomes and contributing towards stuttering relapse post treatment. To ensure that psychological treatments for social anxiety in stuttering adults are relevant and effective, a broader empirical understanding of the mechanisms of social anxiety in stuttering populations is required. Four key cognitive processing biases identified as maintenance factors in cognitive behavioral models of social anxiety were examined: self-focused attention, safety behavior use, negative self-imagery, and interpretation bias. Methods: Adults who stutter and non-stuttering adults (N = 186) were assessed via an online survey. Participants were categorised into two groups based on stuttering: formally diagnosed stuttering and non-stuttering. Within those groups, participants were further categorised as having low or high levels of social anxiety. Cognitive processing bias was assessed in response to two hypothetical social scenarios (i.e., social interaction and social performance). Results: As predicted, in both adults who stutter and who are non-stuttering, high social anxiety was related to greater self-focused attention, safety behavior use and negative self-imagery compared to low social anxiety. No significant effect of social anxiety or stuttering was found in relation to interpretation bias. A significant stronger effect of social anxiety upon negative self-imagery was observed in formally-diagnosed adults who stutter compared to non-stuttering adults. Conclusion: The results support the use of cognitive behavioral models of social anxiety as a framework for research and treatment development within stuttering populations.
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Stereotypes towards Stuttering for Those Who Have Never Had Direct Contact with People Who Stutter: A Randomized and Stratified Study
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Research suggests that many people hold pervasive negative stereotypes towards persons who stutter and that to date, success in changing these attitudes has been limited. However, few studies have selected people who had not had direct contact with a person who stutters or employed a true randomized and stratified selection of people from the community to assess attitudes towards stuttering. To assess stereotypes, a randomized and stratified investigation was conducted by telephone interview to assess the type of stereotypes 502 people from households in the state of New South Wales, Australia have about stuttering. Consenting persons were given a brief introduction to the research and a description of stuttering. Then they were asked if they or any person living in their household stuttered or whether they knew or had ever met any one who stuttered If answers were no, they were asked to participate. If they answered yes to either question they were thanked and not asked to participate. Analysis showed that a large number believe persons who stutter are shy, self-conscious, anxious people who lack confidence. In contrast, many also believe they would not be embarrassed talking to someone who stutters, that they have average or above average intelligence, and are capable of holding responsible work-related positions. While this research yields a mixture of negative and positive community stereotypes, a significant portion of society continue to show little knowledge of the causes of the disorder.
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  • Jan 1988
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• The reliability of psychiatric diagnosis using the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia—Lifetime Version in personal and telephone Interviews with 39 subjects was assessed using a 12- to 19-month test-retest design. Interrater reliability was high (K,.69 to.84) for the diagnosis of panic disorder, agoraphobia with panic attacks, probable panic disorder, major depression, and alcohol abuse. We conclude that it is possible to reliably make these lifetime diagnoses in a family study using the telephone interview.
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Stuttering
Article
  • Aug 1983
The research literature on stuttering is extensive, spanning etiology, natural history, phenomenology, and treatment. In this review, existing empirical knowledge is distilled by attending only to replicated findings. These are designated as "facts." Facts concerning the natural history of idiopathic stuttering highlight early childhood onset, probability of recovery, and importance of a positive family history of stuttering. Corroborated evidence on stutterer-nonstutterer differences concerns intelligence distribution, speech development, central auditory function, and sensory-motor response. Predictable changes in stuttering frequency, and even total elimination of stuttering, occur under a remarkable variety of conditions. Review of therapies revealed two that satisfied the most stringent criteria for good treatment. Various theoretical positions are examined for their fit with the established facts. A model of stuttering as a genetically determined reduction in central capacity for efficient sensory-motor integration is preferred, provided acquisition of secondary symptoms is attributed to instrumental learning.
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