Objective. Previous studies have shown some motor deficits among stuttering and dyslexic children. While motor deficits in speech articulation of the stuttering children are among the controversial topics, no study on motor deficits of dyslexic children has been documented to date. Methods. 120 children (40 stuttering, 40 dyslexia, and 40 normal) 6–11 years old were matched and compared in terms of diadochokinetic skill. Dyslexia symptoms checklist, reading test, and diadochokinetic task were used as measurement instruments. Results. The data analysis showed that there are significant differences ( ) in reaction time and the number of syllables in accomplishing diadochokinetic tasks among stuttering children, dyslexics, and the control group. This indicates that stuttering children and dyslexics have poor performance in reaction time and in the number of monosyllable articulation and long syllable articulation. Furthermore, there are significant differences ( ) in these indices between stuttering children and dyslexics, so that the latter group have better performance than the former one. Conclusion. The findings indicate that stuttering children and dyslexics have deficits in diadochokinetic skill which suggests their low performance in the motor control of speech production and articulation. Such deficits might be due to the role of the tongue in the development of stuttering and dyslexia. 1. Introduction Language is the most powerful means of communication. It can manifest as spoken and/or written form [1]. The damage on any aspect of human speech, a part of tongue movement, including (1) the production of verbal sounds, (2) speech speed, and (3) phonemes, can lead to verbal disorder. Likewise, damage to the written and spoken abilities of an individual affects his/her educational and social life [2]. Though language disorder and dyslexia are quite different concepts (e.g., in DSM-IV), some scholars consider them as a continuum of language disorders [3, 4]. Some theories refer to the motor deficit in dyslexia and language disorders. For most children, the multiword language development stage is the onset of stuttering as speech and other motor skills develop. At the age of 2–4, children are able to produce longer and more complex sentences. The rate of speech production increases and their speech rhythm becomes similar to grownups. Simultaneously, their fine and gross motor skills develop. Thus, the ability to acquire new motor skills is vital for this earlier rapid development in language [5]. Children who have a problem in performing complicated
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