الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Introduction: stuttering is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder of speech motor control and coordination, marked by involuntary disruptions, or disfluencies in the forward flow of speech. Studying the acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in stuttering children will allow for better understanding of laryngeal dynamics in stutterers and relating them to stuttering severity and therapy. Aim of this study: The aim of this study is to determine acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in Arabic-speaking stuttering children in comparison to normal children and correlate these characteristics with stuttering severity for proper follow up of these children. Patients and methods: A sample of 80 Arabic –speaking Egyptian children (including 40 typically developing children and 40 stuttering children) in the age range 5-8 years were subjected to acoustic analysis of voice and speech using the praat software Methods: The whole studied samples were subjected to voice and speech analysis by praat software. Results: The present study revealed significant differences in the acoustic parameters of voice and speech between Arabic-speaking stuttering children and normal children. The stuttering children showed significantly higher values of jitter and shimmer in prolonged /a/ vowel sample, as compared to normal group. Some of these acoustic parameters were significantly correlated with stuttering severity. Conclusion: Acoustic analysis of stuttering children can be used as simple, quick, cheap, non-invasive diagnostic and follow up tool of stuttering. It can be used to compare between pre and post treatment results using different treatment modalities. |