The Prevalence of Stuttering in Latino/a Preschoolers
Growing numbers of bilingual Latinos/as in the United States require the assessment of numerous aspects of speech-language impairments in order to decrease clinical challenges they may confront. The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence of stuttering in Latino/a preschoolers. An assessment of 163 children ages 2 to 5-years-old was conducted. All children were identified by their parents as Latino/a and attended preschool programs in Illinois. The Fluharty Preschool Speech and Language Screening Test was used to assess the children's speech and language capabilities. 163 children were determined to have normal fluency. No children were identified as children who stuttered. The prevalence of stuttering was determined to be 0% with a male to female ratio of 0:0. Results of the study will contribute to the limited pool of data concerning stuttering in the Latino/a population and help reduce the amount of misdiagnosis and/or over diagnosis of Latino/a preschoolers.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Speech and Hearing Science
Research Advisor:
Adele Proctor
Department of Research Advisor:
Speech and Hearing Science
Year of Publication:
2006