Deck 9: Assessment of Preschool-Age Children

Question 1

According to research, the best predictor of spontaneous recovery from stuttering in young children is:

A) mild stuttering severity at onset
B) family history of recovery
C) older age (5 to 6 years)at stuttering onset
D) fewer disfluency types at onset

Answer 1

family history of recovery

Question 2

Parents can be led to narrow the date range of the time of onset by recalling stuttering:

A) when the child was engaged in daily routine activities
B) at times when the child was upset
C) at times of major events such as birthdays and holidays
D) when the child was saying specific words

Answer 2

at times of major events such as birthdays and holidays

Question 3

In the utterance "bu-bu-but", the number of units of syllable repetition is:

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) not evident

Answer 3

two

Question 4

A child had 10 disfluencies in 100-monosyllabic words speech sample. A year later, the same child produced a 100-bisyllabic word speech sample that contained 10 disfluencies. The changes that occurred can be described as follow:

A) the percent of disfluencies per 100 syllable remained the same
B) the percent of disfluency per 100 syllables doubled
C) the percent of disfluencies per 100 syllables was increased by 50%
D) the percent of disfluencies per 100 syllables was decreased by 50%
E) none of the above.

Question 5

Based on data concerning the development of early childhood stuttering, which of the following factors should have the least influence on your decision to recommend speech therapy for a preschool age child at the early stage of the disorder:

A) the initial severity of stuttering
B) the child's gender
C) the type of familial history of stuttering
D) the time elapsed from the onset of the disorder

Question 6

Which of the following factors should have the most influence in predicting persistent or naturally recovered stuttering in a 3-year child who has just begun stuttering?

A) the child's gender
B) the dominant type of disfluency
C) the time elapsed from the onset of the disorder
D) the initial stuttering severity

Question 7

Which of the measures listed below has been shown in recent research on developmental paths of early childhood stuttering as a primary predictor of persistent stuttering:

A) motor skills
B) expressive and receptive language skills
C) phonological skills
D) none of the above

Question 8

One measure that can be used in differentiating early stuttering from normal disfluency is the number of repetition units per instance of repetition. The mean number of repetition units expected of a preschool age child who stutters at the early stage of stuttering is:

A) 0.90
B) 1.70
C) 2.50
D) 3.20

Question 9

In regards to the previous question, the average repetition units per instance of repetition for a normally fluent child is:

A) 0.70
B) 1.10
C) 1.70
D) 2.20

Question 10

Among the various measures of repetition units, the best discriminator between a normally fluent child and a child who stutters is:

A) the frequency of multiple, "long" repetitions, three units or more per 100 syllables
B) mean number of repetition units per repetition instance
C) proportional distribution of repetition units
D) all of the above are basically equal in their discriminative power

Question 11

If a child has a family history of persistent stuttering, the child's chance of matching this pattern is:

A) 65%
B) 47%
C) 25%
D) 15%

Question 12

According to present clinical opinions, with some support from recent data, after a few months post-onset which of the following should be taken as the best sign of danger for persistent stuttering:

A) two clusters of two or more disfluencies per 100 syllables
B) seven Stuttering-Like Disfluencies (SLD) per 100 syllables
C) a relatively high proportion of sound prolongations (15-25%) in the total of SLD in the speech sample
D) a mean of 2.5 repetition units per disfluency

Question 13

Which of the following common forms of advice to parents of preschool children has NOT received experimental support as effective in reducing stuttering:

A) ignore the child's stuttering
B) more sleep for the child (early bed time)
C) use short, simple sentences when talking to the child
D) all of the above have not received support
E) all of the above did receive research support

Question 14

In the initial parent interview concerning a preschool child who stutters, the question "When exactly did stuttering begin ?" has the most direct implications to:

A) emotional etiology
B) language impact
C) possible need for intervention
D) the type of disfluencies

Question 15

In the initial parent interview concerning a preschool child who stutters, the question "Was the onset of stuttering sudden or gradual?" is pertinent because:

A) sudden onset tends to be associated with organic etiology
B) gradual onset tends to be associated with psychological etiology
C) gradual onset tends to be associated with more severe stuttering
D) sudden onset tends to be linked to maternal history of stuttering
E) none of the above

Question 16

Based on recent longitudinal data on the development of stuttering in preschool age children, it would be justified to advise parents of a two and a half year-old child who began stuttering four months prior to the evaluation that his/her chances for recovery are approximately 75%.

Question 17

Based on the information described in the previous question, it would be justified to advise the parents that they should expect the stuttering to worsen throughout the first year of the disorder. Improvement in young beginning stutterers, if it occurs, typically takes place during the second year of the disorder or later.

Question 18

A speech sample of a preschool-age child containing only four instances of syllable or word repetitions per 100 syllables, each of which is of two or more repetition units, most likely was recorded from a child who stutters.

Question 19

A 30-month year old male is first seen 3 months after stuttering onset. He exhibits rather severe stuttering in terms of SLD frequency (15 per 100 syllables), moderate tension, and few secondary characteristics. No apparent emotional reactions. There is no known familial history of stuttering. Phonology and language appear normal for age. In this case, there is no reason to view the child, at this point in time, as being at high risk for persistence and he may be placed under close monitoring for several months.

Question 20

A 30-month year old male is first seen 3 months after stuttering onset. He exhibits rather severe stuttering in terms of frequency SLD (15 per 100 syllables), moderate tension, and few secondary characteristics. Three months later, there are no signs of aggravation such as changing symptomatology. Parents report improvement. Analysis of several speech samples yields 11 SLD per 100 syllables. Immediate therapy should be recommended because the child still exhibits a significant amount of stuttering.

Question 21

A 30-month old female is first seen three months after onset. She exhibits moderate to severe stuttering in terms of frequency (e.g., 13 SLD per 100 syllables). Her uncle exhibits mild stuttering and her older cousin has been stuttering for six years at a moderate level of severity. Three months later, the parents report some improvement but still rate the stuttering as moderate. Analyses of speech samples reveal 11 SLD per 100 syllables. In spite of the improvement, immediate intervention should be considered.

Question 22

The initial evaluation of a young child who stutters should be restricted to comprehensive testing of the his/her disfluent speech, secondary characteristics, emotional reactions, and parents' report.

Question 23

In the initial evaluation of a preschool age child, why are the following information items obtained: (a) accurate time of stuttering onset, (b) characteristics of speech and other behaviors (which ones?) of stuttering at onset, (c) accurate family history of stuttering? Elaborate on each of the above.

Question 24

The distinction between normal disfluency and stuttering might become blurred in some cases, especially when the suspected stuttering is mild. What disfluent speech characteristics have been suggested for the classification of a child as exhibiting mild stuttering?

Question 25

A 30-month old boy has been stuttering for a period of 3 months. List and discuss four primary risk factors for him to develop persistent stuttering.

Question 26

The child's awareness of his/her own stuttering has been viewed as an important factor in the development of stuttering after its onset. It is also as a factor that may influence the type of intervention. What sources and means can be used in attempting to evaluate a preschool-aged child's awareness of stuttering and his/her emotional reaction to it?

Question 27

Discuss the initial counseling of parents whose child has just begun stuttering. Specifically, what can parents do to deal with the problem? List and briefly discuss 6 items of advice to parents.