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From: Gunars
Date: 10/6/00
Time: 11:50:25 PM
Remote Name: 206.63.34.41
Nan,
I think that longitudinal studies, both for the onset of stuttering, spontaneous recovery, and after therapy, are very important if we are to tease the world of human behavior to give up some of its secrets.:-)
I have some half-formed hypotheses I would like for you to respond to:
a) Do you think your work supports the hypothesis that demands placed on a child that are greater than his capabilities (Starkweather) play a role in developing stuttering? I started with the assumption that the society and parents place equal expectations/demands those of us who were slow to develop are more apt to stutter. This might explain the difference between females and males in the ratio of stuttering, since males are more backward in developing language skills.
b) Is there any evidence that language skills at that level are dependent on the environment? For example, do "stay at home mothers" who constantly talk to their children instill superior language skills in them?
c) Does a stressful environment inhibit the development of language skills? (My generation of Latvians appeared to have an unusually high incidence of stuttering, which according to my lay observation, I did not see in the older generation nor do I see in the younger generation. When I started to talk the Russians had occupied Latvia and then their occupation was followed by Nazi Germany's occupation. My parents were glad to pull us through alive. We were sent to live with other people on two occasions that I recall, so that if they were sent to camps or gulags or executed we would survive...
Gunars
p.s. I really enjoyed the well referenced paper.