Botha Anél, Ras Elizbé, Abdoola Shabnam, Van der Linde Jeannie
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria.
S Afr J Commun Disord. 2017 Jun 26;64(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/sajcd.v64i1.347.
Persons with stuttering (PWS) often present with other co-occurring conditions. The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) proposes that it is important to understand the full burden of a health condition. A few studies have explored voice problems among PWS, and the characteristics of voices of PWS are relatively unknown. The importance of conducting future research has been emphasised.
This study aimed to describe the vocal characteristics of PWS.
Acoustic and perceptual data were collected during a comprehensive voice assessment. The severity of stuttering was also determined. Correlations between the stuttering severity instrument (SSI) and the acoustic measurements were evaluated to determine the significance. Twenty participants were tested for this study.
Only two participants (10%) obtained a positive Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) score of 1.6 or higher, indicating that no dysphonia was present, while 90% of participants (n = 18) scored lower than 1.6, indicating that those participants presented with dysphonia. Some participants presented with weakness (asthenia) of voice (35%), while 65% presented with a slightly strained voice quality. Moderately positive correlations between breathiness and SSI (r = 0.40, p = 0.08) have been reported. In addition, participants with high SSI scores also scored a poor DSI of below 1.6, as observed by a moderate positive correlation between SSI and DSI (r = 0.41).
The majority of PWS presented with dysphonia, evident in the perceptual or acoustic parameters of their voices. These results can be used for further investigation to create awareness and to establish intervention strategies for voice disorders among PWS.
口吃者（PWS）常常伴有其他共病情况。世界卫生组织（WHO）的《国际功能、残疾和健康分类》（ICF）提出，了解健康状况的全部负担很重要。一些研究探讨了口吃者的嗓音问题，但口吃者嗓音的特征相对尚不明确。已强调了开展未来研究的重要性。
本研究旨在描述口吃者的嗓音特征。
在全面的嗓音评估期间收集声学和感知数据。还确定了口吃的严重程度。评估口吃严重程度量表（SSI）与声学测量之间的相关性以确定其显著性。本研究对20名参与者进行了测试。
只有两名参与者（10%）获得了1.6或更高的阳性嗓音障碍严重程度指数（DSI）评分，表明不存在嗓音障碍，而90%的参与者（n = 18）得分低于1.6，表明这些参与者存在嗓音障碍。一些参与者存在嗓音无力（衰弱）（35%），而65%的参与者表现出嗓音质量略有紧张。已报告呼吸音与SSI之间存在中度正相关（r = 0.40，p = 0.08）。此外，如SSI与DSI之间的中度正相关（r = 0.41）所示，SSI得分高的参与者DSI也低于1.6。
大多数口吃者存在嗓音障碍，在其嗓音的感知或声学参数中很明显。这些结果可用于进一步调查，以提高认识并制定口吃者嗓音障碍的干预策略。
