http://hdl.handle.net/1903/1643 2013-05-19T23:24:07Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7478 Title: Fluency of School-Aged Children With a History of Specific Expressive Language Impairment: An Exploratory Study Authors: Boscolo, Brian; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Rescorla, Leslie Abstract: A large volume of literature now links language demand and fluency behaviors in children. Although it might be reasonable to assume that children with relatively weak language skills might demonstrate higher levels of disfluency, the sparse literature on this topic is characterized by conflicting findings on the relationship between language impairment and disfluency. However, in studies finding elevated disfluency in children with specific language impairment, a higher frequency of disfluencies more characteristic of stuttering has been noted. This study asks whether children with long-standing histories of language delay and impairment are more disfluent, and display different types of disfluencies than their typically developing, age-matched peers. Elicited narratives from 22 pairs of 9-year-old children were analyzed for fluency characteristics. Half of the children had histories of specific expressive language impairment (HSLI-E), whereas the others had typical developmental histories. The children with HSLI-E were significantly more disfluent than their peers and produced more stutter-like disfluencies, although these behaviors were relatively infrequent in both groups. Implications for clinical intervention and future research are discussed. 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7477 Title: Parental Perceptions of Children’s Communicative Development at Stuttering Onset Authors: Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Silverman, Stacy Abstract: There has been clinical speculation that parents of young stuttering children have expectations of their children’s communication abilities that are not well-matched to the children’s actual skills. We appraised the language abilities of 15 children close to the onset of stuttering symptoms and 15 age-, sex-, and SES-matched fluent children using an array of standardized tests and spontaneous language sample measures. Parents concurrently completed two parent-report measures of the children’s communicative development. Results indicated generally depressed performance on all child speech and language measures by the children who stutter. Parent report was closely attuned to child performance for the stuttering children; parents of nonstuttering children were less accurate in their predictions of children’s communicative performance. Implications for clinical advisement to parents of stuttering children are discussed. 2000-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7476 Title: Parental Language Input to Children at Stuttering Onset Authors: Miles, Stephanie; Ratner, Nan Bernstein Abstract: Many programs for the indirect management of stuttering in early childhood counsel adjustment of parental language models, which are presumed to play an exacerbating influence on vulnerable children’s fluency. We examined the relative levels of linguistic demand in maternal language to stuttering and nonstuttering children, adjusted for each child’s current level of linguistic development. No significant or observable differences were detected in the relative level of linguistic demand posed by parents of stuttering children very close to onset of symptoms. Empirical support for current advisement and potential ramifications are discussed. 2001-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7475 Title: Caregiver–Child Interactions and Their Impact on Children’s Fluency: Implications for Treatment Authors: Ratner, Nan Bernstein Abstract: There is a relatively strong focus in the stuttering literature on the desirability of selected alterations in parental speech and language style in the management of early stuttering. In this article, the existing research support for such recommendations is evaluated, together with relevant research from the normal language acquisition literature that bears on the potential consequences of changing parental interaction style. Recommendations with relatively stronger and weaker support are discussed. Ways in which children’s communication styles and fluency may be altered through newer fluency treatment protocols are contrasted with older, more general parent advisements. Finally, directions for future research into the efficacy of recommendations made to the parents of children who stutter (CWS) are offered. 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z