Self-monitoring of speech of adults who stutter

Abstract

Introduction: Frequently, the natural flow of speech is interrupted by pauses, hesitations andrevisions. These elements, usually considered common dysfluencies are evidence of an internal systemof self-monitoring that repairs the speech in real time to ensure its intelligibility. Stuttering is a disorderin speech fluency and characterized by the presence of pauses, repetitions of sounds or syllables, blocksand prolongations. The strategies used by fluent speakers to revise their speech are similar to thecharacteristics that define stuttering; however few studies were conducted with the purpose of searchingthe self-monitoring of speech of people who stutter. Objective: To investigate the self-monitoring of speechof adults who stutter. Material and methods: This is a case-control study that included 35 adults whostutter, compared to 35 adults who do not stutter. All participants performed an oral reading task of aBrazilian Portuguese text. The task was recorded, transcribed and the examination of samples allowedthe identification of errors, their repairs and classification. The data were submitted to descriptive andanalytical statistics. Results: Adults who do and do not stutter show no significant differences regardingthe number of explicit errors, in oral reading task (p = 0.74). Significant differences were observedbetween the groups with regard to attempts to repair these errors, either explicit (p = 0.04) and covert(p = 0.002). Conclusion: Adults who do and do not stutter share a common system of self-monitoringof speech. However, adults who stutter proved more sensitive to errors and made an excessive numberof repairs, suggesting failures in adaptation and phonological planning.