PHONOLOGICAL ABILITIES IN CHILDREN WITH STUTTERING

Purpose: to study the phonological development characteristics of stuttering and non-stuttering children, and to investigate possible association between stuttering and phonological processes. Methods: 20 children (10 stuttering), female and male, between 4 to 8 years old, matched by gender and age. Children in the experimental group diagnosed with Stuttering and classified to severity of disease through the Stuttering Severity Instrument-3. Those who had evidence of deafness, neurological diseases and/ or psychiatric disorders were excluded. Children in both groups underwent speech and phonology evaluations by ABFW – Child Language Test. Results: 60% of phonological processes not expected for age were observed in the experimental group. Moreover, in the control group were only 10%. Differences between groups were not statistically significant on the incidence of phonological processes. There is evidence that the group of stuttering children is more likely the presence of at least one phonological process. Conclusion: the methodology applied in the investigation of phonological processes was effective, but due to small sample not been possible to develop the issue and verify if there is a difference in performance as the stuttering children