Abstract
A study of speech and language faults of schizophrenic children is presented and discussed in light of data from tape recordings of directed speech activities and non-directed conversation. The sample comprised 25 schizophrenic children in residential treatment and 25 normal public school children matched for age (M=8 years and 8 months;SD=19 months), sex (17 boys and 8 girls in each group), race and religious background. Appraised was the speech of each child with reference to presumptive norm in phonation (volume, pitch, voice quality), rhythm (rate, phrasing, fluency, stress and intonation), articulation, communication of meaning and mood and gestural manner and attitude. While more schizophrenic children than normal showed specified speech faults, no single or specific clustering of faults uniquely characteristic of childhood schizophrenia was in evidence. Also, more schizophrenic children exhibited a wide variation and presence of antipodal phenomena fluctuating from one extreme to the other in many voice and speech elements.
Published Version
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