Lexical development and stuttering in children: a scope review

comparative, longitudinal or case-control clinical studies that included analysis of the expressive and receptive vocabulary of children with stuttering aged between 2 and 9 years.

Results

most of the analyzed studies report a relationship between lexical development or performance and stuttering in children, however there is no consense about the relationship between greater or lesser lexical development.

Conclusion

there is not enough evidence to relate stuttering and lexical development. More studies are needed in order to understand the relationship between lexical performance and stuttering in children.

Keywords:
Stuttering; Childhood-onset fluency disorder; Language development; Child language; Vocabulary; Semantics; Child

DATABASE	STRATEGY
VHL (Virtual Health Library)	(Gagueira OR stuttering OR tartamudeo OR bégaiement OR “Transtorno da Fluência com Início na Infância” OR “Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder” OR “Trastorno de Fluidez de Inicio en la Infancia” OR “Trouble de la fluence verbale débutant dans l'enfance” OR “Distúrbio da Fluência com Início na Infância” OR stammering) AND (“Desenvolvimento da Linguagem” OR “Language Development” OR “Desarrollo del Lenguaje” OR “Développement du langage oral” OR “Aquisição da Linguagem” OR “Linguagem Infantil” OR “Child Language” OR “Lenguaje Infantil” OR “Langage de l'enfant” OR “Linguagem da Criança” OR vocabulário OR vocabulary OR vocabulario OR vocabulaire OR semântica OR semantics OR semántica OR sémantique OR “Desenvolvimento Lexical” OR “Lexical Development” OR “Language Acquisition”) AND (criança OR child OR niño OR enfant OR crianças OR pré-escolar OR “Child, Preschool” OR preescolar OR “Enfant d'âge préscolaire” OR “Criança Pré-Escolar” OR “Crianças Pré-Escolares” OR “Pré-Escolares” OR children OR “Preschool Child” OR “Preschool Children”) AND (db:(“LILACS” OR “IBECS” OR “INDEXPSI” OR “BBO” OR “BINACIS” OR “CUMED” OR “SOF” OR “campusvirtualsp_brasil”))
MEDLINE (via PubMed)	(Stuttering OR “Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder” OR Stammering) AND (“Language Development” OR “Child Language” OR Vocabulary OR Semantics OR “Lexical Development” OR “Language Acquisition”) AND (Child OR “Child, Preschool” OR Children OR “Preschool Child” OR “Preschool Children”)
Cochrane (via CAPES Portal)	(Stuttering OR “Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder” OR Stammering) AND (“Language Development” OR “Child Language” OR Vocabulary OR Semantics OR “Lexical Development” OR “Language Acquisition”) AND (Child OR “Child, Preschool” OR Children OR “Preschool Child” OR “Preschool Children”)
Scopus (via CAPES Portal)	(Stuttering OR “Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder” OR Stammering) AND (“Language Development” OR “Child Language” OR Vocabulary OR Semantics OR “Lexical Development” OR “Language Acquisition”) AND (Child OR “Child, Preschool” OR Children OR “Preschool Child” OR “Preschool Children”)
Web of Science (via CAPES Portal)	(Stuttering OR “Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder” OR Stammering) AND (“Language Development” OR “Child Language” OR Vocabulary OR Semantics OR “Lexical Development” OR “Language Acquisition”) AND (Child OR “Child, Preschool” OR Children OR “Preschool Child” OR “Preschool Children”)
EMBASE (via CAPES Portal)	(Stuttering or 'fluency disorder') AND ('language development' or vocabulary or semantics or 'lexical development') AND ('preschool child' or child)

Authors/year of publication	Study design	Country/ Period	Total n	Diagnosis of stuttering	Lexical analysis instruments	Partial n	Age range at assessment	Characteristics of assessed group	Main findings
Luckman, Wagovich, Weber, Brown, Chang, Hall & Ratner, 2020(²⁴24 Luckman C, Wagovich SA, Weber C, Brown B, Chang SE, Hall NE, et al. Lexical diversity and lexical skills in children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2020;63:105747. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2020.105747. PMid:32058092. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2020... )	Case-control	USA	n = 198	Yes	PPVT-R; EOWPVT-R; PPVT-4; PPVT-3; EVT; EVT-2, TOLD-P3; ROWPVT	partial n = 152	SC: 25 to 100 months	Groups assessed by different authors; no previous ST; NS	EV and RV SC < CG
				MTSO = 20,16 months		SC: 76	CG: 28 to 100 months
						CG: 76	Mean age: 25 to 79 months
						22 pairs of girls and 54 pairs of boys
Kreidler, Wray, Usler & Weber, 2017(³²32 Kreidler K, Wray AH, Usler E, Weber C. Neural indices of semantic processing in early childhood distinguish eventual stuttering persistence and recovery. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017;60(11):3118-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-17-0081. PMid:29098269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-1... )	Case-control	USA	n = 56	Yes	EEG during semantic stimulation	CG: 24 (15 boys, 9 girls)	5 years	No previous ST; NS	Semantical maturity RS > PS
						RS: 19 (14 girls, 5 boys)
						PS: 13 (9 boys, 4 girls)
Wagovich & Hall, 2017(¹⁹19 Wagovich SA, Hall NE. Stuttering frequency in relation to lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, and utterance length. Comm Disord Q. 2017;39(2):335-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1525740117702454. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15257401177024... )	Longitudinal	USA	n = 9	Yes	PLS-4, PPVT, EOWPVT,	SC: 9 (6 boys, 3 girls)	2 years and 1 month to 4 years and 11 months	No previous ST; NS	EV > SC
	Longitudinal	Period: 2 years	n = 9	Yes	VOCD, IPSyn	CG: none	2 years and 1 month to 4 years and 11 months	No previous ST; NS	EV > SC
Leech, Ratner, Brown & Weber, 2017(²⁰20 Leech KA, Ratner NB, Brown B, Weber CM. Preliminary evidence that growth in productive language differentiates childhood stuttering persistence and recovery. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017;60(11):3097-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0371. PMid:29049493. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-1... )	Longitudinal	USA	n = 74	Yes	TACL-3, SPELT-3, VOCD, IPSyn	SC:50		No previous ST; NS	NR with lexical development
		Period: 3 years		MTSO:		RS: 22 (18 boys, 4 girls)
				37,2 months		PS: 28 (15 boys, 23 girls)
						CG: 24
Watts, Eadie, Block, Mensah & Reilly, 2015(²¹21 Watts A, Eadie P, Block S, Mensah F, Reilly S. Language ability of children with and without a history of stuttering: a longitudinal cohort study. Int J Speech Lang Pathol. 2015;17(1):86-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2014.923512. PMid:25014490. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2014.... )	Longitudinal cohort	Australia, from 2002 to 2005	n =1619	Yes	2 years: WSVMB-CDI; CELF-4;	SC: 181	SC: 106 boys, 75 girls	No previous ST; NS	EV SC < CG
					3 years: CDI-3; 100-word EV;	CG: 1,438	Age: 2 to 5 years
					4 years: CELF-P2; 5 years: CELF-4
Sakhai et al., 2014⁽²⁹⁾	Case-control	Iran	n = 100	Yes	Expressive and receptive vocabulary tests	SC: 50	All males. 10 children of each preschool age group in each research group.		NR
Sakhai et al., 2014⁽²⁹⁾	Case-control	Iran	n = 100	Yes	Expressive and receptive vocabulary tests	CG: 50			NR
Coulter, Anderson & Conture, 2009(³⁰30 Coulter CE, Anderson JD, Conture EG. Childhood stuttering and dissociations across linguistic domains: a replication and extension. J Fluency Disord. 2009;34(4):257-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2009.10.005. PMid:20113770. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2009... )	Case-control	USA	n = 170	Yes		SC1: 40	3 years to 5 years and 11 months (studies 1 and 2)	No previous ST; NS	NR
						CG1: 40	SC1 and CG1: 25 boys and 15 girls
						SC2: 45
						CG2: 45
Reilly et al., 2009(²²22 Reilly S, Onslow M, Packman A, Wake M, Bavin EL, Prior M, et al. Predicting stuttering onset by the age of 3 years: a prospective, community cohort study. Pediatrics. 2009;123(1):270-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-3219. PMid:19117892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-3219... )	Longitudinal	Australia	N+ 1619	No	CDI	SC: 137	8 months to 6 years	No previous ST; NS	EV and RV SC > CG
Anderson, 2008(³¹31 Anderson JD. Age of acquisition and repetition priming effects on picture naming of children who do and do not stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2008;33(2):135-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2008.04.001. PMid:18617053. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2008... )	Case-control	USA	n = 44	Yes	PPVT-III A, TELD-3, EVT	SC: 22	3 years and 1 month to 5 years and 7 months	No previous ST; NS	NR
	Case-control	USA	n = 44	Yes	PPVT-III A, TELD-3, EVT	CG: 22	3 years and 1 month to 5 years and 7 months	No previous ST; NS	NR
Wagovich & Ratner, 2007(²⁶26. Wagovich SA, Ratner NB. Frequency of verb use in young children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2007;32(2):79-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2007.02.003. PMid:17499123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2007... )	Case-control	USA	n = 30	Yes	PPVT-R; EOWPVT; SNTB; GAP	SC: 15		No previous ST; NS	EV SC < CG
	Case-control	USA	n = 30	Yes	PPVT-R; EOWPVT; SNTB; GAP	CG: 15		No previous ST; NS	EV SC < CG
Hartfield & Conture, 2006(¹¹11 Hartfield KN, Conture EG. Effects of perceptual and conceptual similarity in lexical priming of young children who stutter: preliminary findings. J Fluency Disord. 2006;31(4):303-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2006.08.002. PMid:17010422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2006... )	Case-control	USA	n = 26	Yes	PPVT-III, EVT, SLS of TELD-3, GFTA-2	SC: 10 boys, 3 girls	3 years to 5 years and 7 months	No previous ST; NS	LA SC < CG
	Case-control	USA	n = 26	Yes	PPVT-III, EVT, SLS of TELD-3, GFTA-2	CG: 10 boys, 3 girls	3 years to 5 years and 7 months	No previous ST; NS	LA SC < CG
Pellowski & Conture, 2005(³³33 Pellowski MW, Conture EG. Lexical priming in picture naming of young children who do and do not stutter. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2005;48(2):278-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005/019). PMid:15989392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005... )	Case-control	USA	n = 57	Yes	PPVT-III, EVT, TELD-3, GFTA-2,	SC: 23	3 years to 5 years and 11 months.	No previous ST; NS	EV SC < CG
						CG: 23	SC: 21 boys, 2 girls. Mean age: 54 months.
							CG: 18 boys and 5 girls. Mean age: 54 months
Silverman & Ratner, 2002(²⁷27 Silverman S, Ratner NB. Measuring lexical diversity in children who stutter: application of vocd. J Fluency Disord. 2002;27(4):289-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0094-730X(02)00162-6. PMid:12506447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0094-730X(02)... )	Case-control	USA	n = 30	Yes	PPVT-R; EOWPVT-R; Two CELF-P subtests	SC: 15	SC: 27 to 47 months	No previous ST; AS; NS	EV SC < CG
				MTSO: 2,3 months		CG: 15	CG: 27 to 47 months
							12 boys, 3 girls in each group
Anderson & Conture, 2000(²⁵25 Anderson JD, Conture EG. Language abilities of children who stutter. J Fluency Disord. 2000;25(4):283-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0094-730X(00)00089-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0094-730X(00)... )	Case-control	USA	n = 40	Yes	PPVT-III, TELD-2, GFTA, SNTB	SC: 16 boys, 4 girls	3 years to 5 years and 3 months	No previous ST; AS; NS	EV and RV SC < CG
	Case-control	USA	n = 40	Yes	PPVT-III, TELD-2, GFTA, SNTB	CG: 16 boys, 4 girls	3 years to 5 years and 3 months	No previous ST; AS; NS	EV and RV SC < CG
Watkins & Yairi, 1997(²³23 Watkins RV, Yairi E. Language production abilities of children whose stuttering persisted or recovered. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1997;40(2):385-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4002.385. PMid:9130206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4002.385... )	Observational	USA	n = 32	Yes	SALT; MLU, NTW, NDW	PS: 9 boys, 3 girls		PS: MTSO: 36 months	EV and RV SC > CG
						RS: 7 boys, 3 girls		LRS: MTSO: 18 to 36 months
						RS: 6 boys, 4 girls		RS: MTSO: up to 18 months
								PS had previous ST
Westby, 1979(²⁸28 Westby CE. Language performance of stuttering and nonstuttering children. J Commun Disord. 1979;12(2):133-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9924(79)90036-4. PMid:429605. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9924(79)9... )	Case-control	USA	n = 30	Yes	PPVT-A; TTCT	SC: 10	Preschoolers and schoolchildren	No previous ST; NS	EV SC < CG
						CG: 10
						CD: 10

Academia Brasileira de Audiologia Rua Itapeva, 202, conjunto 61, CEP 01332-000, Tel.: (11) 3253-8711, Fax: (11) 3253-8473 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revista@audiologiabrasil.org.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Conflict of interests: No.