Molecular self-analyses of stuttered speech via speech time expansion

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The current investigation attempted to determine if a standard procedure could be utilized for training 40 naïve adult stutterers to perform a molecular rather than molar self-analysis using speech time expanded recordings. All subjects provided a 3-min spontaneous speech sample from memory drum stimuli and two 100-word oral reading passages. Initial descriptive statements pertaining to the speech patterns were obtained from all subjects. Subjects were then systematically trained to identify each specific form of disfluency observed in their maladaptive speech patterns, including part word repetitions, interjections, whole word repetitions, prolongations, and hard contacts. Results of the training procedure indicated that the subjects as a group could be trained to reliably identify part word repetitions, prolongations, and interjections at the p < 0.01 level and that they could identify the other two disfluency form types within 80% accuracy.