Vibrotactile magnitude production scaling: A method for studying sensory-perceptual responses of stutterers and fluent speakers

The method of vibrotactile mangitude production scaling was used to determine the tactile sensory-perceptual integrity for the dorsum of the tongue and thenar eminence of the right hand for 10 fluent speakers and 10 stutterers. It was discovered that both groups performed the task in a similar manner for the thenar eminence of the hand (a nonoral structure) but in a dissimilar manner for the tongue (an oral structure). From these data, it is suggested that the stutterers may maintain a different internal sensory-perceptual process for the tactile system involved in the speech process. The possibility exists that stuttering, for some, may be an “internal disorder” of the tactile-proprioceptive feedback mechanism that is directly involved in speech production.