Frequency of speech disruptions in Parkinson's Disease and developmental stuttering: A comparison among speech tasks

Objective To analyze the frequency of speech disruptions across different speech tasks, comparing the performance of individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and DS. Method Participants were 20 people with PD, 20 people with DS and 40 fluent individuals. Speech samples were recorded during monologue speech, choral and solo oral reading. Transcriptions of 200 fluent syllables were performed to identify stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) and other disfluencies (ODs). Results People with PD presented significantly less speech disruptions when compared to people with DS, but significantly more speech disruptions than the control group. Stuttering-like disfluencies ocurred more frequently during monologue speech and solo oral reading for both PD and DS, whereas the control group did not present difference between these tasks. Conclusion The stuttering pattern presented by people with PD is different from what is usually described as being neurogenic stuttering.