The Stuttering Analysis Research (STAR) Lab investigates factors that impact the etiology of stuttering as well as the assessment and treatment of stuttering in children. directed by Dr. Kia N Johnson

About our Current Research

The STAR Lab is currently examining the impact of bilingualism on the speech disfluencies of children who do and do not stutter.

Studies focus on the characteristics of speech disfluencies in:

• Children who are bilingual in Spanish and English
• Children who are bilingual in Urdu and English

The STAR Lab – in collaboration with Language Ability Lab – is also currently examining the impact of bidialectalism on the speech disfluencies of children with variable use of mainstream American English and African-American English.

The STAR Lab is always open to investigating characteristics related to speech disfluencies in other languages and dialects.

Get involved in STAR Lab Research (Click here)

Become a STAR Lab Assistant

Undergraduate and Graduate COMD majors may be considered for a voluntary unpaid position as a STAR Lab Assistant. A STAR Lab assistant should have an interest in fluency disorders and research. A great STAR Lab assistant is one who is responsible, committed, eager to learn as well as initiative and a sound academic record.

Preference is given to students who have 2 years remaining at the University of Houston.

If you are interested in being considered for a future position, please email a copy of your transcript reflecting your academic record at the University of Houston (unofficial transcripts are acceptable) and your resume or curriculum vitae to Dr Johnson (kjohnson6@uh.edu)

Lab-Related Publications

• *Martinez, K. & Johnson, K. (2017) General professional considerations for use with bilingual children. Journal of the National Black Association for Speech, Language and Hearing, 12, 38-43.
• Byrd, C. *Haque, A., & Johnson, K. (2016). Speech-language pathologists’ perception of bilingualism as a risk factor for stuttering. Communication Disorders, Deaf Studies & Hearing Aids, 4, 1-6. DOI:10.4172/2375-4427.1000158

Lab-Related Presentations

• Mills, M., Johnson, K., *Alvarez, D., & *Puente, M. (June, 2019). An examination of speech disfluencies in bidialectal children. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Language Disorders, Milwaukee, WI.
• Johnson, K. & Byrd, C. (November, 2018). Manifestation of Speech Disfluencies in Bilingual Children Who Stutter: An Investigative Update. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Boston, MA.
• Johnson, K. (April, 2018). Speech disfluencies of bilingual children who stutter: An investigative Update. One-Hour Seminar presented at the annual convention of the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Washington, DC.
• *Rincon, C., Johnson, K., Byrd, C., Castilla-Earls, A. (November, 2017). Speech Disfluencies from Narratives of Bilingual Spanish-English Children Who Stutter: Preliminary Findings. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Los Angeles, CA.
• Johnson, K. & Weiss, A. (September, 2017). Revisiting Finn & Cordes (1997): Advances in Multicultural Identification & Treatment in Stuttering Circa 2017. One-Hour Seminar presented at the 11^th Oxford Dysfluency Conference.  Oxford, UK.^
• *Dominguez, V., *Carroll, K., *Williams, P. & Johnson, K. (April, 2017). Cultural review of speech and language assessment tools for bilingual children. One-Hour Seminar presented at the annual convention of the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Virginia Beach, VA.
• Johnson, K., *Kazhuro, K. & *Tobey, K. (April, 2015). Assessing developmental stuttering in bilingual individuals: A literature review. Mini-seminar presented at the annual convention of the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Nashville, TN.
• *Student co-author