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Biomedical subjects

N Bernstein Ratner

Publications and source records attributed to N Bernstein Ratner.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Interactive influences on phonological behaviour: a case study.

An infant girl's unusual phonological behaviour was evaluated in the light of a maternal model which appeared to exaggerate features of normal conversational speech. It is suggested that parental responses to immature speech patterns may account for selected case study behaviours which have been reported in both the child phonology and child fluency literatures. It appears that evaluation of phonological development within an interactive framework may allow a more accurate picture of the conditions under which children learn speech skills. To this end, further study of the phonetic characteristics of input language and patterns of parental feedback to early articulatory attempts is desirable.

Female

Measurable outcomes of instructions to modify normal parent-child verbal interactions: implications for indirect stuttering therapy.

This study was a preliminary analysis of the differential effects of instructions to slow maternal speech rate, or to slow and simplify maternal speech when conversing with normally fluent children. Twenty mothers and their normally fluent children participated. Instructions to slow maternal rate resulted in maternal speech simplification as a by-product. No significant differences were found between the effects of the two sets of instructions. Furthermore, children's speech rate and language complexity did not parallel maternal adjustments. These last findings are problematic for some of the premises that underlie the use of parental counseling as a component of indirect therapy for stuttering.

Child, Preschool