GRAMMATICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE USE OF GRAMMATICALLY COMPLEX SENTENCES IN CHILDREN WHO STUTTER AND CHILDREN WHO DO NOT STUTTER

Abstract

The main aim of the research was to determine the development of grammar and the use of grammatically complex sentences in stuttering and non-stuttering children, and to determine whether there are differences in the above abilities between these two groups of respondents. The sample of respondents consisted of a total of 64 children aged 56-83 months. Respondents are divided into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 32 stuttering children, of whom 19 were male and 13 female. The control group consisted of 32 children who did not stutter, and who compared with age and gender, were equal with the respondents of the experimental group. The research was conducted in preschools and elementary schools in the area of the Tuzla and Una-Sana Cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the study showed that stuttering children show statistically lower abilities during repetition of sentences, as well as recognition, understanding and use of common morphological forms. However, it is important to point out that children who stutter, regardless of significantly lower results than their fluent speaking peers, have shown above-average grammatical abilities. Also, the results showed that both children who stutter and children who do not stutter in their spontaneous speech use complex sentences.