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Correlation between stuttering severity and pragmatic development in Egyptian children who stutter

The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology volume 33, pages 670–678 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Few studies have been carried out concerning the relation between stuttering behaviors and language pragmatics in children who stutter (CWS). The correlation between stuttering severity and pragmatic development in CWS is scarce in the literature so far.

Aim

This research aimed to study the relationship between stuttering severity and pragmatic language development in the Egyptian Arabic-speaking CWS.

Patients and methods

This study is an analytical cross-sectional study carried out at the Phoniatrics Clinics of El-Demerdash Hospital (Ain Shams University) and El-Zahraa Hospital (Al Azhar University). A total of 60 Egyptian CWS in the age range between 4 years 1 day and 9 years 11 months 31 days were selected conveniently based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Selected children underwent the Ain Shams assessment protocol for fluency disorders, including assessment of stuttering severity by Bloodstein (BLS) classification and the Stuttering Severity Instrument for Children and Adults – Arabic version (ASSI). The standardized Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test has been used to assess the pragmatic language development.

Pearson’s correlation coefficient has been used to correlate the total pragmatic language age and degree of stuttering severity by BLS classification and the ASSI.

Results

Upon application of the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test, all the participating children had no pragmatic language delay. They had scores either at and/or above their fifth percentiles in all the test items except in the paralinguistic aspect. There was no statistically significant correlation between grades of BLS classification or ASSI and the total pragmatic language age.

Conclusion

CWS had no pragmatic language delay except in the paralinguistic aspects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Phoniatrics, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt

    Sabah Mohammed Hassan & Mona Sameeh Khodeir (MD (Phoniatrics), Lecturer of Phoniatrics)

  2. Unit of Phoniatrics, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Yossra Abdel Naby Sallam & Ola Shaaban Mahmoud

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Ola Shaaban Mahmoud

Authors
  1. Sabah Mohammed Hassan
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  2. Yossra Abdel Naby Sallam
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  3. Mona Sameeh Khodeir
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  4. Ola Shaaban Mahmoud
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mona Sameeh Khodeir.

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Hassan, S.M., Sallam, Y.A.N., Khodeir, M.S. et al. Correlation between stuttering severity and pragmatic development in Egyptian children who stutter. Egypt J Otolaryngol 33, 670–678 (2017). https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_60_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_60_17

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