title: School-age children with specific language impairment produce more speech disfluencies than their peers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the occurrence of speech disfluencies during narrative production in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their age-matched peers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 60 children aged between 7 and 10 years, 40 with typical language development and 20 with SLI. For data collection, a series of 15 stories was used, each one represented by pictures composed of four scenes. Narratives were transcripted and the speech disfluencies presented on them were classified as stuttering-like disfluencies (part-word repetition, single-syllable word repetition, and dysrhythmic phonation - prolongations, blocks and broken words) or other disfluencies (interjection, revision/abandoned utterances, and multisyllable/phrase repetition). The disfluency categories were compared in each group and its occurrence was also compared between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The occurrence of stuttering-like and other disfluencies did not differ among children with typical language development, whereas children with SLI produced other disfluencies. Between-group comparison showed that children with SLI produced more disfluencies of both types than their age-matched peers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with SLI showed more speech disfluencies during narrative production than their age-matched peers, and the most common disfluencies used by them were not typical of people who stutter (interjection, revision/abandoned utterances, and multisyllable/phrase repetition).
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Debora Maria
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Befi-Lopes
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Manhani
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cáceres-Assenço
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suellen Fernanda
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcely
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vieira
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013342:Stuttering / Q000175:diagnosis