This study compared the attitudes and reactions of thirty preschool and thirty school-age children toward a child speaker with stuttering patterns. An introduction reviewed previous literature on defining stuttering, adults' and children's attitudes toward stuttering, and the stutterer's personality traits. The children of the study rated either a normal child speaker or a child speaker with stuttering patterns on a sociometric scale. In a giving task, the children were asked to choose one of the speakers. Statistical testing revealed that the school-age children had a more negative attitude toward and less social acceptance of the child speaker with stuttering patterns than the normal-speaking child. Implications for the speech-language pathologist in treating the child stutterer are discussed.

Intervals of specified fluent verbal behavior of two stutterers received response-contingent positive stimulation in the form of an accumulating points system, Assessment was made o the effect of experimental manipulation on the frequency of fluent speech intervals as well as on the frequency of subject-identified stuttering behaviors observed during the experimental session. The results indicated significant change in fluent interval frequency in the spontaneous speech of one subject. Effect of the experimental contingency was not demonstrated in the oral reading of a second subject. Stuttering. behavior data indicated that an indirect effect of the positive stimulation can change the frequency of behavior not being contingently stimulated.

This diploma thesis focuses on the communication competence of young learners with speech impediments. The theoretical part describes the development of young learners at primary school, speech ontogenesis from the child´s birth to their entering the first class. Then there is also analyzed communication and related communicative competence. Another section focuses on speech disorders, their classification. It is important to mention the prevention of speech therapy and the subsequent development of communication skills. The practical part is focused on research to determine the influence of defects on the level of speech communication skills of young pupils. This section is based on information obtained through interviews with teachers and five selected students´ parents at the basic school of speech therapy and the analysis of governesses and teachers´ diaries. The resulting data is recorded in case reports, tables and graphs.