Would you like to participate?? contact us or email stuttering@syr.edu
Dr. Tumanova’s primary research interest is on the onset and development of stuttering in early childhood. Her research focuses on the way in which temperament, linguistic and speech motor control abilities may influence the development of stuttering in young children. The overarching goal of her work is to contribute to the evidence-based assessment and treatment of stuttering as well as to our understanding of why some children develop chronic stuttering while others recover without treatment.
We are currently recruiting children ages 3 to 5 who DO and DO NOT stutter to participate in the research project “The Influence of Contextual and Constitutional Emotional Processes on Speech Motor Control and Speech Motor Learning in Early Childhood Stuttering.” In this project, we are studying how excitement influences speech movement control in preschool-age children. The study participation requires three visits to the Stuttering Research Laboratory on Syracuse University campus. We are also recruiting children ages 6 to 10 who DO stutter to participate in the research project “Procedural Learning in Children Who Stutter.” Here, we are studying how procedural learning (learning that happens automatically, often simply by doing, such as learning how to ride a bike) influences speech planning and production in school-age children. This study requires one visit to the Stuttering Research Laboratory on Syracuse University Campus. As a part of the study procedures participants will receive a speech-language evaluation free of charge and will be compensated for their time.
Take a virtual tour of the lab!
Please see detailed study procedures below. If you have any additional questions about the research or would like to participate please contact Dr. Victoria Tumanova by phone at 315.443.1118 or email stuttering@syr.edu.
“The Influence of Contextual and Constitutional Emotional Processes on Speech Motor Control and Speech Motor Learning in Early Childhood Stuttering.”
Study procedures and approximate durations:
This study is for children ages 3-5 years of age and will take place over three visits to the Stuttering Lab at Syracuse University. Each visit is approximately 1.5 hours in duration. At the first visit, your child will engage in a 10-15 minute conversation with a Researcher, during which we will measure speech disfluencies and language use and complete a series of short tests of attention and memory. Then, your child will watch a neutral video clip showing a fish tank screensaver and will be asked to repeat a simple sentence several times after an audio cue. During this speaking task your child will see pictures (color photographs) that are meant to elicit positive, negative, or neutral response. Each of the pictures will be presented to your child for a brief period. This task will take about 20 minutes and will be done at each of three visits
During presentation of the video clip and the speaking task, we will measure your child’s physiological reactions by recording your child’s heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration. Heart rate will be measured with two hypoallergenic pediatric sensors that will be placed on your child’s chest, and skin conductance will be measured through two more hypoallergenic pediatric sensors placed on his/her fingers. We will also track the movement of your child’s lips and jaw during speech. This will involve placing small adhesive “markers” on the child’s upper lip, lower lip, jaw, and forehead. The sensors and markers stick to the skin temporarily like Band-Aids. Your child will also wear modified plastic sports goggles with markers attached to them. Before attaching the sensors, we will make sure your child is comfortable with them.
While your child is being tested, you will be asked to complete four to five questionnaires about your child’s day-to-day behaviors and family and medical history, which takes approximately 30-40 minutes. At the end of the visit, your child will have his/her blood pressure, height and weight measured and his/her hearing tested.
At the second visit, your child will complete speech-language tests, measuring vocabulary, comprehension, speech sound articulation, and attitudes about talking, and will repeat the speaking task described above. At the third visit, your child will complete the speaking task one last time. This speaking-viewing task is repeated at each visit so we can assess whether children change how they control their speech over time, as the task becomes familiar.
You will be paid $25 for each visit, for a total of $75 for the three visits. If your child comes in for, but does not complete a visit entirely, you will still be compensated for the entire visit. Your child will also be given a small toy at the end of each visit.
“Procedural Learning in Children Who Stutter.”
Study procedures and approximate durations:
This study is for children ages 6-10 who stutter and will take over one visit to the Stuttering Lab at Syracuse University. The session will last approximately 2 hours. In the first hour, your child will complete a series of speech-language tests, measuring vocabulary, comprehension, speech sound articulation, and attitudes about talking, and will engage in a 20-minute conversation with a Researcher, during which we will measure speech disfluencies and language use. While your child is being tested, you will be asked to complete four to five questionnaires about your child’s day-to-day behaviors and family and medical history, which takes approximately 30-40 minutes. Your child will also have his/her hearing tested.
For the second part of the visit, which will last about 1 to 1½ hours, your child will be asked to repeat nonwords which are presented with audio and on a computer screen. During the nonword repetition task, we will track the movement of your child’s lips and jaw during speech. This will involve placing small adhesive “markers” on the child’s upper lip, lower lip, jaw, and forehead. These temporarily stick to the skin like Band-Aids. Your child will also wear modified plastic sports goggles with markers attached to them.
After the speaking task, your child will be presented with pictures on a screen and instructed to click a button on a response box (similar to a gaming controller) when a certain picture appears on the screen. During these tasks, we will also measure your child’s physiological reactions by recording your child’s heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration. Heart rate will be measured with two hypoallergenic pediatric sensors that will be placed on your child’s chest, and skin conductance will be measured through two more hypoallergenic pediatric sensors placed on his/her fingers. These also stick to the skin temporarily like Band-Aids. Your child is free to decline to complete any of these tasks. At the end of the visit, your child will have his/her blood pressure, height and weight measured.
You will be paid $30 for the visit. The maximum number of visits is one visit. If your child comes in for, but does not complete a visit entirely, you will still be compensated for the entire visit. Your child will also be given a small toy at the end of the visit.
If interested, please contact Dr. Victoria Tumanova by phone at 315.443.1118 or email stuttering@syr.edu.