title: Electromyography and diadochokinesia--a study with fluent and stuttering children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  electromyography and diadochokinesia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to analyze the oral movement rate in children with persistent developmental stuttering and in normally fluent children during the repetition of articulatory segments (diadochokinesia - DDK).
  
  
  METHODS
  participants of the study were 50 children, with no distinction of gender and race, enrolled in public schools (primary and junior) of São Paulo city and Great São Paulo, whose families agreed, through informed consent, with the research procedures. The research group (GI) consisted of 19 children diagnosed as stutterers. The control group (GII) consisted of 31 fluent children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the results of the study indicate that there were great similarities in performance in the DDK tasks for both groups. Standard deviation values were high for both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  statistically significant differences were observed for the ability of sequential movement, i.e. when looking at ANOVA results the group of fluent children presented a better ability to move their articulators rapidly when producing sequential segments (pa/ta/ka).
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. clauan@usp.br
authors.forename: Claudia Regina Furquim de
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: Danilo Pacheco de
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Queiróz
authors.forename: Fernanda Chiarion
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Sassi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D013342:Stuttering / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*