Auditory processing and cluttering in young children.

This study examined the differences among scores on four tests of auditory processing of 6 children who clutter and 6 control subjects matched for age, sex, and grade. Scores on a consonant-vowel dichotic listening task indicated that directing the attention of the attended ear improved the percentage of correct responses for both groups of children. Those who clutter, however, showed a greater percentage of change during the directed right and left ear conditions. Cluttering children performed poorer on right and left competing conditions of the Staggered Spondaic Word Test. No differences were found between groups for the auditory attention task and the time-compressed speech task. Implications for processing of dichotic stimuli and diagnosis of children who clutter are discussed.

Effects of acknowledging a hearing loss on social interactions.

An important part of the counseling process is to offer guidance to people with hearing impairments on accepting their disability and adjusting to the negative attitudes held by some communications partners. The purpose of this study was to determine subjects' (1) preferences for interacting with individuals with a hearing impairment who acknowledged their hearing loss, and (2) perceptions of personality, employability, intelligence, and adjustment related to acknowledgment of hearing loss. Two male students with hearing impairments were videotaped under two experimental conditions. During one condition students acknowledged their hearing losses, spoke about adjustment, concerns, etc., while during the other condition they did not acknowledge their hearing loss. Results indicated that subjects preferred speakers when they discussed their hearing loss. Speakers who acknowledged their hearing loss also received more favorable ratings on personality, employability, and adjustment. Clinical implications for aural rehabilitation programs are discussed.

Cortisol responses in adults who stutter: coping preferences and apprehension about communication.

This study evaluated the moderating effects of individuals' coping styles for physiological reactivity to a stressor in the laboratory in 11 persons who stuttered and 11 persons who did not stutter. Reactivity was defined as changes in levels of salivary cortisol after a stressor. Subjects were grouped according to scores on apprehension about communication. Individuals scoring high on Communication Apprehension showed significantly elevated cortisol levels compared to those scoring low on Communication Apprehension. Stuttering subjects who scored high on Communication Apprehension and used emotion-based coping strategies showed the largest elevations in cortisol levels.

The effects of life stressors and daily stressors on stuttering.

This study systemically documented the effect of perceived daily stress on subjective and objective measures of disfluencies in 12 adults who stuttered and 12 adults who did not stutter. Subjects participated in a prospective research study for 22 consecutive days. Measures of life stress, daily stress, and self-ratings of fluency were obtained. Subjects were trained in rating their fluency levels (self-ratings of fluency) and perceived daily stress levels (frequency and perceived impact of daily stressors). Results revealed a significantly higher number of daily stressors endorsed by subjects who stutter. Subjects who stuttered also displayed a significantly greater number of disfluencies and higher self-ratings of disfluencies on "high-stress" days. No significant differences were found between the mean total scores for life stress or impact scores for daily stress for the two groups. These data suggest that day-to-day variations in stuttering could be related to multiple, minor, daily stressors in some persons who stutter. Implications for treatments involving cognitive restructuring and desensitization are discussed.

A behavioral-cognitive therapy program for adults who stutter: computers and counseling.

This paper evaluates the efficacy of a behavioral-cognitive treatment program for adults who stutter. The program combines a commercially available computer-assisted biofeedback program for the reduction of stuttering and a relapse management program for counseling and attitude change. Four adults who stutter, between the ages of 20 and 25 years, participated in a study with multiple baseline across individuals. The initial treatment was conducted in an intensive time block, followed by extended treatment sessions. Results show that subjects reduced their disfluencies to below 3% stuttered syllables and maintained those changes at the 6 and 12 month follow-up. Measures of attitude changes were also assessed and showed that increases in positive feelings and attitudes were maintained at follow-up.

Subjective anxiety measurements and cortisol responses in adults who stutter.

Anxiety, as measured by self-report inventories and salivary cortisol levels, was examined in 11 males who stutter and 11 males who do not stutter during baseline, low stress, and high stress sessions. During the high stress session salivary cortisol was significantly greater in persons who stutter than in persons who do not stutter. No significant differences were found between the two groups on the State-Anxiety Inventory, Trait-Anxiety Inventory, or the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. Significant differences in anxiety levels among the baseline, low stress, and high stress sessions for both groups of subjects were found for the State-Anxiety Inventory. No other significant differences or relationships were found between the two groups.

Spouses of individuals with laryngeal cancer: caregiver strain and burden.

A major proportion of care for patients with laryngectomies is provided by their spouses. This study assessed caregiver strain and burden using two standardized measures. Questionnaires were completed by 75 spouses of individuals with laryngectomies. The correlates of perceived strain and burden, time since the diagnosis of cancer, the caregivers gender, the caregivers present health status, and the effects of current stressors were considerations in the analyses. The strain and burden of caregiving decreased as time from the diagnosis of cancer increased. Male caregivers reported less strain and burden than female caregivers. Subjects reported strain and burden independent of other current stressors in their lives. Implications for counseling and support groups for caregivers are discussed.

Perceived control, adjustment, and communication problems in laryngeal cancer survivors.

Health locus of control, adjustment to cancer, and communication experiences after a laryngectomy were investigated in 63 laryngeal cancer survivors. Survivors who showed internal control also scored as better adjusted and had fewer communication problems. Scales were intercorrelated (.68 to .92).

A continuous-flow model for phonatory reaction time.

The purpose of this study was to validate a proposed continuous-flow model of phonatory reaction time by investigating the temporal order of selected laryngeal and neurophysiological events involved in a phonatory reaction time task. Ten normal speakers participated in a phonatory reaction time task. Laryngeal positioning movements prior to vocal fold closure (laryngeal shift) and onset of vocal fold vibration (acoustic onset) were recorded with an electroglottograph. P300 brain potentials were collected simultaneously, and they served as an index of a central process underlying reaction time. The obtained temporal ordering of laryngeal shift, P300, and acoustic onset supported a continuous-flow model of phonatory reaction time. Use of this model might yield information that is more accurate in explaining physiological function and more precise in describing temporal patterning than the serial model.

Acknowledgment and severity of stuttering as factors influencing nonstutterers' perceptions of stutterers.

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) if nonstutterers prefer to interact with mild and severe stutterers who acknowledge their stuttering and (b) if nonstutterers' perceptions of mild and severe stutterers' intelligence, personality, and appearance are altered as a function of stutterers' acknowledgment of their stuttering. Acknowledgment and nonacknowledgment videotapes of two mild and two severe male stutterers were made during interview situations. Eighty-four female subjects examined the interview tapes and were then instructed to answer questions and complete adjective scales. Findings indicate that significant numbers of female nonstutterers prefer to interact with severe stutterers who acknowledged their stuttering. Mild and severe stutterers who acknowledged their stuttering receive more favorable ratings on intelligence, personality, and appearance.

Fluent and disfluent normal speakers' responses on a Synthetic Sentence Identification (SSI) task.

This study attempted to confirm the theory that central auditory processing deficits exist in the normally disfluent population. Forty adults, 20 males, and 20 females were administered the Synthetic Sentence Identification-Ipsilateral Competing Message (SSI-ICM) at -20 dB message-to-competition ratios. Results revealed a significant difference between the performance of fluent and disfluent normal speakers. No significant differences were found between ears or between male and female subjects. Discussion includes comparative data analyses with a previous study and implications for further research.

Dichotic listening performance of articulatory-impaired children: directed attention, severity, and data analysis.

The present study compared the performance of articulatory-impaired and non-articulatory-impaired children on a dichotic word task. The dichotic words were presented under three listening conditions: free recall, directed right, and directed left. In addition, different methods for analyzing ear preferences were computed and compared. Children between 5 and 9 years of age participated. Results indicated no significant differences between articulatory-impaired and non-impaired groups on ear preferences. The directed left condition failed to produce a significant difference between right and left ear scores for both groups. Data analysis showed similarities, except with the use of the phi coefficient. No correlations were established between the number and type of articulation errors and dichotic ear preferences.

Effect of directed attention on cerebral asymmetries in stuttering adults.

9 stutterers and 9 nonstutterers were administered a dichotic digits test under conditions of free recall and directed attention. Analysis indicated right-ear preference for both groups and no differences between the free recall and directed listening conditions. Results are discussed in relation to previous studies in which dichotic digit-stimuli were presented to stutterers.

Relationship between specific disfluency variables and dichotic listening in stutterers.

86 stutterers' disfluency patterns were examined in relation to their laterality preferences. Results suggest that young stutterers are a heterogeneous group and that specific disfluency variables were not related to ear preferences on a dichotic consonant-vowel listening task.

Laterality differences in child stutterers: heterogeneity, severity levels, and statistical treatments.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between stuttering severity and hemispheric dominance, as measured by a dichotic listening task. Subjects were 76 stutterers and 76 nonstutterers who were asked to respond to a series of dichotically presented synthetic syllables. Results revealed (a) a right ear preference for both stuttering and nonstuttering subjects; (b) right ear, no ear, and left ear preference subgroups among the stutterers; (c) differences in dichotic ear preferences for the 7- to 12-year-old stuttering and nonstuttering subjects; and (d) a relationship between stuttering severity and hemispheric dominance depending on the manner in which the data were analyzed. The discussion considers the earlier studies in the literature and reconsiders the idea of subgroups within the stuttering population. Also discussed is the use of certain statistical treatments and the need to determine the relationship between hemispheric dominance in stutterers and other variables.

Central auditory function in young stutterers.

16 stutterers and 16 nonstutterers between the ages of 8 and 11 yr. were administered a battery of central auditory processing tests. The six audiological tests evaluated a range of auditory functions. Analysis indicated no significant differences between the two groups; however, inspection of the data showed 6 of the stuttering subjects performed consistently more poorly on four of the tests than the nonstuttering subjects. Results are discussed in relationship to subgroups of stutterers with auditory problems.

Relationship between stuttering severity and brainstem-evoked response testing.

Brainstem-evoked-response testing was performed on 8 adult stutterers and 8 non-stutterers. Stutterers demonstrated prolonged central conduction time as measured by the interpeak latency (IPL) differences between Waves I to V. Five of the stutterers manifested abnormalities unilaterally, while three of the subjects showed abnormal responses bilaterally. No relationship was found between brainstem-evoked-response testing and severity of stuttering.

Fundamental frequency and intensity measurements in laryngeal and alaryngeal speakers.

Fundamental frequency measurements and voice sound pressure levels were examined in 10 tracheoesophageal, 10 esophageal, and 10 laryngeal speakers during three phonation tasks. The results indicated that tracheoesophageal speakers had a fundamental frequency approximately 25 Hz higher than esophageal speakers. Intensity levels for laryngeal and tracheoesophageal speakers were similar. Discussion includes support for this new voice restoration technique.

Cautiousness and hearing acuity in elderly women: a signal detection approach.

Hearing loss in elderly women was investigated with respect to measures of sensory and decision processes in an auditory signal detection task. A 1000Hz signal was used as the stimulus and a 6-point response category scale was employed. Subject biases were obtained from 6 normal hearing and 6 moderately hearing impaired elderly adults (65-76 yr). Results indicated that the subjects set a conservative criterion, regardless of hearing loss, and tended to use a binary decision process.

School-age children's reactions to deaf and hearing-impaired children.

The study investigated 120 grade school children's impressions of deaf and hearing-impaired children. Scores on the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children showed that nonhandicapped students apply negative attributes similarly to both groups. Implications for mainstreaming and elimination of stereotypes are discussed.