The question of what size speech sample is sufficient to accurately identify stuttering and its myriad characteristics is a valid one. Short samples have a risk of over- or underrepresenting disfluency types or characteristics. In recent years, there has been a trend toward using shorter samples because they are less time-consuming for school-based speech-language pathologists. However, it is questionable whether shorter samples are adequate to properly diagnose and evaluate stuttering. The purpose of this investigation was to conduct a systematic examination of the effect of speech sample size on the frequency and type of disfluency in the school-age population. The participants included 30 school-aged children who stutter, ranging in age from 7 to 12 years. Results indicated that there was not a significant change in stuttering-like disfluencies (SLD) or length of disfluent events as the size of the speech sample increased.
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