An analysis of individual differences in words stuttered

Six stutterers (two adults and four children between 12 and 14 years old) read 33 or more passages of prose of approximately 200 words, in sessions of 16 or 17 passages. Words were classified by initial phoneme, grammatical class, length, and position in sentence, and proportions of stutters were examined as a function of these variables. The extensive data allowed a detailed analysis of individual differences, with the following results. Five subjects showed the usual higher rate of stuttering on consonants, though there were differences in which consonants were stuttered most, and one subject showed more stuttering on vowels. A markedly higher rate was found on initial words of sentences in two subjects, and these two subjects were also exceptional in stuttering more on content than function words, and in showing a type of stutter characterized by blocks rather than repetitions. Possible explanations for this pattern are discussed. Contrary to Taylor (1966) there were significant correlations between stuttering and grammatical class even when initial phoneme and word in sentence were held constant. There were no significant changes within sessions. Two subjects showed a significant decrease between sessions, one showed an increase; these changes were due to familiarity with the experimental situation, rather than with passages per se.