Kurt Eggers

Purpose: The current chapter provides an overview of research findings of four different but related studies on executive functioning in childhood stuttering, conducted in our lab. Method: Different methodologies were used, ranging from a verbal performance paradigm, i.e., the Nonword Repetition Test (Gathercole, Willis, Baddeley & Emslie, 1994), to neuropsychological computer paradigms such as the Attention Network Test (Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002), the Go/NoGo task and Auditory Set-shifting task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (De Sonneville, 2009). All participant groups were children who stutter (CWS), ranging between 3;04 and 10;11 and a gender- and age-matched control group of children who do not stutter (CWNS). 

Results: CWS, as a group, were shown to have a lower efficiency of the working memory, attentional orienting, inhibitory control, and attentional flexibility. In other words, CWS scored significantly lower on all of the executive functioning processes measured. 

Conclusions: These findings provide support for the hypothesis that CWS and CWNS differ on executive functioning processes. The findings were linked to previous related studies and to etiological frameworks of stuttering development.