Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences & Research

Phonological Awareness in Non-fluent Preschool Children

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

Mohammad Ghorbani 1
Maryam Vahab 2
Jamal Ahmadi 3

1 Speech Therapy Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Speech Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 Speech Therapy Department, School of rehabilitation sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jrsr.2019.81750.1012
Abstract
Background: The relation between disfluency and aspects of language, including phonology, has been investigated for many years. Whereas past literature reported that the incidence of phonological difficulties is higher in children who stutter when compared to normally fluent children, the suggestion of association between the two disorders also drew several critical evaluation. This study investigated the phonological awareness abilities of four- and five- year old non-fluent preschool children.
Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was done on 50 children. 25 non-fluent preschool children (21 boys and 4 girls) were paired according to age, sex and socioeconomic status to their typically fluent peers. Participants completed multiple measures of phonological awareness abilities, as well as measures of expressive and receptive vocabulary and articulation.
Results: Regarding the scores of the phonological awareness test there were significant differences between non-fluent children and their typically fluent peers. The four year old children who were non-fluent performed significantly less well than their typically fluent peers on tasks of syllable awareness, intra syllable awareness and phoneme syllable awareness. The five year old non-fluent preschool children performed significantly less well than their typically fluent peers on tasks of intra syllable awareness and phoneme syllable awareness.
Conclusion: Results suggest that non-fluent preschool children have phonological differences in aspects of phonological awareness that may contribute to an unstable language planning system in preschool children who stutter.

Keywords

Phonological Impairments
Stuttering
childhood
1. Howell P, Au-Yeung J. The EXPLAN theory of fluency control
and the diagnosis of stuttering J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2002;
15(3):75-94.
2. Postma A., Kolk H. The covert repair hypothesis: Prearticulatory
repair processes in normal and stuttered dysfluencies. J Speech
Lang Hear Res. 1993;36(3):472–87
3. Perkins W. H, Kent R. D, Curlee R. A theory of
neuropsycholinguistic function in stuttering. J Speech Lang
Hear Res. 1991; 34(4):734-52.
4. Browman C. P, Goldstein L. M. The gestural phonology model.
Front Psychol. 1997;9(2): 57–71.
5. Saltzman E. L., Munhall K. A dynamical approach to gestural
patterning in speech production. Eco Psychol 1989; 1(4):333-82.
6. Willem J. M. Levelt. Speaking: From intention to articulation.
The American J Psych. 1990; 103(3):409-18.
7. Levelt W. J. M, Roelofs A, Meyer A. S. A theory of lexical access
in speech production. Behav Brain Sci. 1999; 22(1): 38-75.
8. Roelofs A. Seriality of phonological encoding in naming objects
and reading their names. Mem Cognit. 2004; 32(2):212-22.
9. Meyer A. S. Investigation of phonological encoding through
speech error analyses: Achievements, limitations, and alternatives.
Mem Cognit. 1992; 42(1-3):181-211.
10. Coles M. G. H., Smid H. G. O. M., Scheffers M. K., Otten L. J.
(1995). Mental chronometry and the study of human information
processing. Mem Cognit. 1995; 20:86-131
11. Gillon G. T. Phonological awareness: From research to practice.
Int J Telerehabil. 2004; 3(4):14-23.
12. Sodoro J, Allinder R, Rankin-Erickson J. Assessment of
phonological awareness: Review of methods and tools. Edu Psych
R 2002;14(3):223–60.
13. Adams M. J. Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about
print. Cambridge. Washington DC: Beranek publisher; 1990.
pp. 160-72
14. Schuele C, Bourdreau D. Phonological awareness intervention:
Beyond the basics. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2008; 39(1):3-20.
15. PadenE. P, Yairi E, Ambrose N. G. Early childhood stuttering.
II. Initial status of phonological abilities. J Speech Lang Hear
Res. 1999; 42(5):1113–24.
16. Yairi, N. G. Ambrose. Early childhood stuttering: For clinicians
by clinicians. Can Fam Phy 2004;50(6):479-84.
17. Wolk L, Edwards M. L, Conture E. Coexistence of stuttering and
disordered phonology in young children. J Speech Lang Hear
Res. 1993; 36(5):906-17.
18. Louko L, Edwards C, Conture E. Phonological characteristics
of young stutterers and their normally fluent peers: Preliminary
observations. J Fluency Disord. 1990;15(4):191–210.
19. St. Louis K. O, Hinzman A. A descriptive study of speech,
language, and hearing characteristics of school-age stutterers. J
Fluency Disord. 1988;13(5):331–55.
20. KM Pelczarski, JS Yaruss. Phonological encoding of young
children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2014;39:12-24
21. Sasisekaran J, Byrd C. T. A preliminary investigation of
segmentation and rhyme abilities of children who stutter. J
Fluency Disord. 2013;38 (2):222–34.
22. Pelczarski K. M., J. S. Yaruss. Phonological memory in young
children who stutter. J Commun Disord. 2016;62:54–66.
23. Bajaj A., Hodson B., Schommer-Aikins M. Performance on
phonological and grammatical awareness metalinguistic tasks
by children who stutterand their fluent peers. J Fluency Disord.
2004;29(1):63-77
24. Ghaffari SZ, Shahbodaqi MR, Jalaie. Evaluation of phonological
awareness in stutterer and non-stutterer children of aged 4 to 8
years in Tehran. 2012;21(2):35-41.
25. Andrews G., Ingham R. Stuttering: Considerations in the
evaluation of treatment. Br J Disord Commun.1971;6(2):129-38.
26. Bloodstein., Ratner N. B. A handbook on stuttering. 6th ed. Clifton
Park, NY: Publisher: Cengage Learning; 2008. pp. 119-223.
27. Yairi E., Ambrose NG, Paden EP, Throneburg RN. Predictive
factors of persistence and recovery: pathways of childhood
stuttering. J Commun Disord 1996;29(1):51-77.
28. Richard F. Curlee, Gerald M. Siegel. Nature and treatment of
stuttering: New direction. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson Publisher;
1996. pp. 24-48.
29. Soleimani Z., Dastjerdi Kazemi M. Study of validity and reliability
of phonological awareness test. J Psychol. 2005;33:82–100
30. Walley A. C., Metsala J. L., Garlock V. M. Spoken vocabulary
growth: Its role in the development of phoneme awareness and
reading ability. Read Wr Interd J. 2003;16(1-2):5–20.
Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences & Research
Volume 7, Issue 1
March 2020
Pages 31-35

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us