Dysphonia in adults with developmental stuttering: A descriptive study.
Anél Botha, Elizbé Ras, Shabnam Abdoola and 1 others
PMID 28697606WHAT IT FOUND
Most adults with developmental stuttering in this study of 20 people showed voice problems.
Their voices were often strained or weak, and measured voice scores were low. Stuttering severity tended to match poorer voice scores. No treatment was tested.
Key findings
01Most participants scored below the normal cut-off on the Dysphonia Severity Index, and 90% scored lower than 1.6.
02The median maximum phonation time was 13.16 seconds, below the 20-second norm, and only 15% could sustain the sound for 20 seconds or more.
03People who stuttered more severely tended to have poorer voice scores, with a correlation of 0.41.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 20 adults were studied, and 75% had very mild stuttering, so the results may not apply to people with more severe stuttering. There was no age and gender matched control group, so differences from the norms cannot be separated from other factors. The perceptual ratings were made by three student researchers, not by clinical speech-language pathologists. Several relationships were weak or not clearly significant, so the correlations should be read as exploratory. Participants were non-smokers and aged 18 to 60 years, so the study does not describe older adults, smokers or people with other voice disorders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that voice problems cause stuttering or that voice treatment will improve stuttering. The study only described 20 adults with developmental stuttering and did not test any treatment.