The Effect of Spontaneous Hand Gestures on Stuttering in Children With Down Syndrome
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03698539 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : October 9, 2018
Last Update Posted : August 13, 2020
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This study wants to determine the relationship between spontaneous hand gestures, stuttering and intelligibility in individuals with Down syndrome. One third of these individuals has fluency problems, such as stuttering. Gesture use appears to be a strength in individuals with Down syndrome. While they are able to compensate for their language problems, it is not clear if they also use gestures to compensate for their speech problems. Therefore, this study will observe the impact of their gesture use on the stuttering frequency/severity and on the intelligibility of children with Down syndrome.
This study has three research questions. The first question is: Is there a difference in gesture use between individuals with Down syndrome who stutter and individuals with Down syndrome who do not stutter? The hypothesis is that the children who stutter will make more gestures to compensate for the fluency problems. The kind of spontaneous hand gestures will also be considered. These results will be compared to those of typical developing individuals.
The second research question is: Are stuttering events that are accompanied by a gesture more intelligible than stuttering moments that are not accompanied by a gesture? Research showed that the use of signs has an positive impact on the speech intelligibility of individuals with Down syndrome. Here it is investigated if this is also true for spontaneous hand gestures. In case of better speech intelligibility it is investigated if the gain in intelligibility is caused by how recognizable the gesture is or by the effect of the gestures on speech itself. The effect of different types on the speech intelligibility of the stuttering events will also be investigated. Typically developing individuals who stutter will function as control group.
The third research question is: 'Does gestural priming have an influence on the fluency of children with Down syndrome? Gestural priming is a secondary speech signal that gives feedback to the first speech signal by simultaneously mimicking the first speech signal. In this research a hand puppet will imitate the mouth movements of the participants. Next to that, the speech will be simultaneously be accompanied by beat gestures, meaningless up and downward movements. The hypothesis is that due to mirror neurons, the participants will become more fluent. Mirror neurons are neurons in the brain that can produce a neural basis for fluency by the perception of the second speech signal.
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment |
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Stuttering Down Syndrome Intelligibility, Speech Gestures | Behavioral: hand gestures |

Study Type : | Observational |
Estimated Enrollment : | 60 participants |
Observational Model: | Case-Control |
Time Perspective: | Cross-Sectional |
Official Title: | The Effect of Spontaneous Hand Gestures on Stuttering in Children With Down Syndrome |
Actual Study Start Date : | December 5, 2018 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | November 30, 2021 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | August 31, 2022 |

Group/Cohort | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Down syndrome who stutter
This group consists of individuals with Down syndrome who stutter. They have a mild or moderate intellectual disability and are able to understand and produce a three word sentence. Spontaneous hand gestures and stutter frequency are investigated in this group. |
Behavioral: hand gestures
We observe the use of spontaneous hand gestures in all the groups. |
Down syndrome who do not stutter
This group consists of individuals with Down syndrome who do not stutter. They have a mild or moderate intellectual disability and are able to understand and produce a three word sentence. Spontaneous hand gestures are investigated in this group |
Behavioral: hand gestures
We observe the use of spontaneous hand gestures in all the groups. |
Typically developing children who stutter
This group consists of typically developing children who stutter. They function as a control group to the individuals with Down syndrome.
|
Behavioral: hand gestures
We observe the use of spontaneous hand gestures in all the groups. |
Typically developing children who do not stutter
This group consists of typically developing children who do not stutter. They function as a control group to the individuals with Down syndrome.
|
Behavioral: hand gestures
We observe the use of spontaneous hand gestures in all the groups. |
- Gesture frequency [ Time Frame: This frequency is measured in the spontaneous telling task and in the gestural priming experiment over a period of 4 - 6 months. ]This frequency is calculated by adding up all the gestures used by the participant and dividing it by the total of words the participant said. Tis total is multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. For example, if a participant used 10 spontaneous hand gestures in a speech sample of 50 words, he has a spontaneous hand gesture frequency of 20%. The speech samples are defined by the length of the videos. Every outing of the participant is included in the sample.
- Stuttering frequency [ Time Frame: This frequency is measured for the first, and third research question, once per participant who stutters over a period of 4-6 months. ]This frequency is calculated for the children with Down syndrome who stutter. The total number of stuttering moments is divided by the total number of words in the speech sample. This number is multiplied by 100 to get the stutter frequency. For example, if a participant had 9 stuttering moments in a speech sample of 90 words, he would have a stutter frequency of 10%. Stuttering moments are defined by repetitions of short words, interjections, syllables or sounds, the prolongation of sounds and blockages. The stutter frequency is calculated in all the studies. The length of the videos defines the speech samples. Every outing of the participant is included in the sample.
- Intelligibility [ Time Frame: This frequency is measured for the second research question, over a period of two months. ]The intelligibility of the individuals who stutter is measured with a 7-point Likert scale with 1 = completely unintelligible to 7 = completely intelligible
- Stuttering discrimination [ Time Frame: This is measured once before the start of the first research question. ]The ability to discriminate between stuttered and fluent speech is measured by a new test developed by the researcher.
- Stuttering awareness [ Time Frame: This is measured once before the start of the first research question. ]Stuttering awareness is measures by a new test developed by the researcher.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 6 Years to 21 Years (Child, Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria for the participants with Down syndrome
- Stuttering (group 1)
- No stuttering (group 2)
- Able to understand and produce a three-word sentence
- Mild to moderate mental disability
Exclusion Criteria:
- Severe mental disability
- No understanding and/or production of a three-word sentence
- Uncorrected visual or auditory impairment
Inclusion Criteria for the typically developing participants
- Stuttering (group 1)
- No stuttering (group 2)
- Able to understand and produce a three-word sentence
Exclusion Criteria:
- No understanding and/or production of a three-word sentence
- Uncorrected visual or auditory impairment
- Other language/speech problems

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03698539
Contact: Babette Maessen, Master | 016 37 24 89 ext +32 | babette.maessen@kuleuven.be | |
Contact: Ellen Rombouts, Doctor | 016 37 77 67 ext +32 | ellen.rombouts@kuleuven.be |
Belgium | |
Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Departement Neurowetenschappen | Recruiting |
Leuven, Belgium, 3000 | |
Contact: Babette Maessen 016 37 24 89 ext +32 babette.maessen@kuleuven.be |
Principal Investigator: | Inge Zink, Professor | Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Dept. Neursciences, KU Leuven | |
Principal Investigator: | Bea Maes, Professor | Parenting and Special Education, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven | |
Principal Investigator: | Ellen Rombouts, Doctor | Experimental Oto-Rino-Laryngology, Department Neurosciences, KU Leuven | |
Principal Investigator: | Babette Maessen, Master | Experimental Oto-Rino-Laryngology, Department Neurosciences, KU Leuven |
Responsible Party: | Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03698539 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
s62049 |
First Posted: | October 9, 2018 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | August 13, 2020 |
Last Verified: | August 2020 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Stuttering Down syndrome Gestures Intelligibility |
Down Syndrome Stuttering Syndrome Disease Pathologic Processes Intellectual Disability Neurobehavioral Manifestations Neurologic Manifestations |
Nervous System Diseases Abnormalities, Multiple Congenital Abnormalities Chromosome Disorders Genetic Diseases, Inborn Speech Disorders Language Disorders Communication Disorders |