How Stuttering and Gestures Influence the Intelligibility of Individuals With Down Syndrome

NCT03698539 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: s62049
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study wants to determine the relationship between spontaneous hand gestures, stuttering and intelligibility in individuals with Down syndrome. One third of these individuals has fluency problems, such as stuttering. Gesture use appears to be a strength in individuals with Down syndrome. While they are able to compensate for their language problems, it is not clear if they also use gestures to compensate for their speech problems. Therefore, this study will observe the impact of their gesture use on the stuttering frequency/severity and on the intelligibility of children with Down syndrome. This study has three research questions. The first question is: Is there a difference in gesture use between individuals with Down syndrome who stutter and individuals with Down syndrome who do not stutter? The hypothesis is that the children who stutter will make more gestures to compensate for the fluency problems. The kind of spontaneous hand gestures will also be considered. These results will be compared to those of typical developing individuals. The second research question is: Are stuttering events that are accompanied by a gesture more intelligible than stuttering moments that are not accompanied by a gesture? Research showed that the use of signs has an positive impact on the speech intelligibility of individuals with Down syndrome. Here it is investigated if this is also true for spontaneous hand gestures. In case of better speech intelligibility it is investigated if the gain in intelligibility is caused by how recognizable the gesture is or by the effect of the gestures on speech itself. The effect of different types on the speech intelligibility of the stuttering events will also be investigated. Typically developing individuals who stutter will function as control group. The third research question is: 'Does gestural priming have an influence on the fluency of children with Down syndrome? Gestural priming is a secondary speech signal that gives feedback to the first speech signal by simultaneously mimicking the first speech signal. In this research a hand puppet will imitate the mouth movements of the participants. Next to that, the speech will be simultaneously be accompanied by beat gestures, meaningless up and downward movements. The hypothesis is that due to mirror neurons, the participants will become more fluent. Mirror neurons are neurons in the brain that can produce a neural basis for fluency by the perception of the second speech signal.

Conditions

Stuttering; Down Syndrome; Intelligibility, Speech; Gestures

Keywords

Stuttering; Down syndrome; Gestures; Intelligibility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Gesture frequency

  This frequency is calculated by adding up all the gestures used by the participant and dividing it by the total of words the participant said. Tis total is multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. For example, if a participant used 10 spontaneous hand gestures in a speech sample of 50 words, he has a spontaneous hand gesture frequency of 20%. The speech samples are defined by the length of the videos. Every outing of the participant is included in the sample.

  This frequency is measured in the spontaneous telling task and in the gestural priming experiment over a period of 4 - 6 months.

• Stuttering frequency

  This frequency is calculated for the children with Down syndrome who stutter. The total number of stuttering moments is divided by the total number of words in the speech sample. This number is multiplied by 100 to get the stutter frequency. For example, if a participant had 9 stuttering moments in a speech sample of 90 words, he would have a stutter frequency of 10%. Stuttering moments are defined by repetitions of short words, interjections, syllables or sounds, the prolongation of sounds and blockages. The stutter frequency is calculated in all the studies. The length of the videos defines the speech samples. Every outing of the participant is included in the sample.

  This frequency is measured for the first, and third research question, once per participant who stutters over a period of 4-6 months.

• Subjective Intelligibility

  The intelligibility of the individuals who stutter is measured with a 7-point Likert scale with 1 = completely unintelligible to 7 = completely intelligible

  This frequency is measured for the second research question, over a period of two months.

• Objective Intelligibility

  The intelligibility of the individuals who stutter is measured by comparing what the listeners transcribed to the true transcription.

  This frequency is measured for the second research question, over a period of two months.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Stuttering discrimination

  This is measured once before the start of the first research question.

• Stuttering awareness

  This is measured once before the start of the first research question.

Study Arms (4)

Down syndrome who stutter

This group consists of individuals with Down syndrome who stutter. They have a mild or moderate intellectual disability and are able to understand and produce a three word sentence. Spontaneous hand gestures and stutter frequency are investigated in this group.

Behavioral: hand gestures

Down syndrome who do not stutter

This group consists of individuals with Down syndrome who do not stutter. They have a mild or moderate intellectual disability and are able to understand and produce a three word sentence. Spontaneous hand gestures are investigated in this group

Behavioral: hand gestures

Typically developing children who stutter

This group consists of typically developing children who stutter. They function as a control group to the individuals with Down syndrome.

Behavioral: hand gestures

Typically developing children who do not stutter

This group consists of typically developing children who do not stutter. They function as a control group to the individuals with Down syndrome.

Behavioral: hand gestures

Interventions

hand gestures BEHAVIORAL

We observe the use of spontaneous hand gestures in all the groups.

Down syndrome who do not stutter; Down syndrome who stutter; Typically developing children who do not stutter; Typically developing children who stutter

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 21 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The groups will be assembled from individuals with Down syndrome and typically developing children who do and do not stutter who live in Flanders. They will be recruited via regular and special education primary schools, via speech language pathologists, via revalidation centra and via the Down syndrome association Flanders.

You may qualify if:

• Stuttering (group 1)
• No stuttering (group 2)
• Able to understand and produce a three-word sentence
• Mild to moderate mental disability

You may not qualify if:

• Severe mental disability
• No understanding and/or production of a three-word sentence
• Uncorrected visual or auditory impairment
• Stuttering (group 1)
• No stuttering (group 2)
• Able to understand and produce a three-word sentence
• No understanding and/or production of a three-word sentence
• Uncorrected visual or auditory impairment
• Other language/speech problems

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven: lead
• Marguerite-Marie Delacroix: collaborator
• KU Leuven: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Departement Neurowetenschappen

Leuven, 3000, Belgium

Location

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MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stuttering; Down Syndrome; Speech Intelligibility; Gestures

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Speech Disorders; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Intellectual Disability; Abnormalities, Multiple; Congenital Abnormalities; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Chromosome Disorders; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Speech; Verbal Behavior; Communication; Behavior; Kinesics; Nonverbal Communication

Study Officials

• Inge Zink, Professor

  Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Dept. Neursciences, KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Bea Maes, Professor

  Parenting and Special Education, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Ellen Rombouts, Professor

  Experimental Oto-Rino-Laryngology, Department Neurosciences, KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Babette Maessen, Master

  Experimental Oto-Rino-Laryngology, Department Neurosciences, KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 4, 2018
• First Posted: October 9, 2018
• Study Start: December 5, 2018
• Primary Completion: September 10, 2021
• Study Completion: September 10, 2021
• Last Updated: October 12, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)