Deso Weiss

1901-1971

Deso Weiss was a psychiatrist and speech pathologist who contributed significantly to the field of speech speech pathology in the areas voice and fluency. Early in his career he pointed out the significance of the newly invented electro-stroboscopes for evaluating vocal fold activity. He argued, in his first papers that the mechanical stroboscope produced optical illusions and were not reliable when evaluating vocal fold activity. He also argued that vocal fold vibration is determined by the movement of the recurrent nerve, and not by breath pressure or muscular tension.

In his mid career Weiss wrote significantly about cluttering, arguing that it was the first stage in the development of stuttering and that it was part of a group of disorders caused by a central language imbalance. His book on cluttering, written in 1964, is still considered a classic in the field of fluency disorders. Weiss also wrote about the relationship between the fields of psychiatry and speech pathology, drawing from his work with those in psychiatric hospitals.

Weiss was a native of Budapest, Hungary. He attended the University of Prague and obtained his medical degree in 1932 from the University of Vienna. In Vienna he studied with Emil Froeschels and thereafter focused his academic and clinical attentions on research and clinical practices associated with speech and voice disorders.

Organizational contributions

IALP Weiss joined the International Association of Logopedics and Phonetics (IALP) in 1930 and served as secretary for a number of years. He was also co-editor of Folia Phoniatrica. While in the United States he was Vice-President The New York Society for Speech and Voice Therapy.

The 1970 issue of Folia Phoniatrica, the international journal of speech and voice therapy, was dedicated to Deso Weiss.

Writings by and about Deso Weiss, written in English

For full bibliography, including works in German see (see https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/263401)

Weiss, D. (1918). Organic lesions leading to speech disorders. Child 7: 29 -37.

Weiss, D. (1930). The pubertal change of the human voice (mutation). Report to the 8th int. Congress of Logopedics. and Phoniatrics, Amsterdam, Folia Phoniatrica. 2: 126 159 (1930).

Weiss, D. (1930) The relationship between cluttering and stuttering, Folia Phoniatrica. 2: 232-262.

Weiss, D. (1931) Chewing and the origin of speech. In Weiss and Beebe (Eds.) The chewing approach in speech and voice therapy, pp. 12-17 Karger.

Weiss, D. (1933) The psychological relations to one’s own voice. Folia Phoniatrica, 7: 210 217.

Weiss, D. (1933). A method of therapy for paralytic conditions of the mechanisms of phonation, respiration and glutination (with E. Froschels and Shulamith Kastein). J. Speech Dis. 20: 363-370.

Weiss, D. (1936) About the vibration (active or passive) of the vocal cords. Ann. Foil. Audiol. Rev. lat.-amer. /: I 7 (1936).

Weiss, D. (1937). Acoustical experiments with regard to the physiology of the voice. Mschr. Ohrcnheilk. 71: 58-62 (1937).

Weiss, D. (1937). Spastic nasality: A newly described speech disturbance. Logopedia Phoniatrica. 9: 87-91.

Weiss, D. (1938). The problems of pubertal change of the voice. Proc. of the 3rd Ini. Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Ghent pp. 191 196.

Weiss, D. (1939). Contribution to the X-ray examination of normal and laryngectomized patients (with M. Grunberg.) Bull, trimest. Soc. beige oto-rhino-laryngol. 3: 1-11.

Weiss, D. (1943) Some problems of the faults in orthography. Bull. Esc. Aguayo, Havana (1943).

Weiss, D. (1943) The treatment of the disturbances of speech and voice in Cuba. I.a Colina 1 (1943).

Weiss, D. (1944). Preliminary investigation for a normative study of fluency. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 14.

Weiss, D. A. (1948). Organic lesions leading to speech disorders. Nervous Child, 7.

Weiss, D. A. (1950). Cluttering. A basic analysis. Lecture given at the New York Society for Speech and Voice Therapy.

Weiss, D. A. (1950). The pubertal change of the human voice (Mutation). Folia Phoniatrica, 2, 126-159 (in German).

Weiss, D. A., & Beebe, H. (Eds.) (1951). The chewing approach in speech and voice therapy. Basel, NY: S. Karger.

Weiss, D. (1951). Chewing and the origin of speech. In D. Weiss & H.Beebe (Eds.) The chewing approach in speech and voice therapy. Basel, NY: S. Karger.

Weiss, D. (1951). Speech in retarded children. Nervous Child, 9, 21-29.

Froeschels, E., Kastein, S. & Weiss, D. (1955) A method of therapy for paralytic conditions of the mechanisms of phonation, respiration and glutination. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 20, 4, 365-370.

Weiss, D. (1955) The psychological relations to one’s own voice. Folia phoniatrica. 7: 210 217.

Weiss, D. A. (1956). Stuttering: Significant theories and therapies (2nd ed.).(E. F. Hahn, Ed.). Stanford: Stanford University Press

Weiss, D. (1959) Discussions of the neurochronaxic theory (Hasson). Arch. Otolaryng. 70: 607-618.

Weiss, D., (1960) Magazine (Pacatal): Clinical trial with placebo control and psychological study (with R. Whittier. D. F. Klein and G. Levine). Psychopharmacologia. Berl. I: 280-287.

Whittier, J.R., Klein, D.F., Levine, G. & Weiss, D. (1960) Mepazine (pacatal): Clinical trial with placebo control and psychological study. Psychopharmacologia 1, 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404225

Weiss, D. (1960) Treatment of central language imbalance (cluttering), Folia Phoniatrica. 12: 216-223.

Weiss, D. (1960). Logopedic study on schizophrenics. Curr. Probl. Phoniatr Logop. 1:151-4.

Weiss, D. (1964) Cluttering. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs.

Weiss, D. A. (1964). Logopedic observations in a mental hospital. Folia Phoniatrica, 16, 130-138.

Weiss, D. (1965) Spastic dysphonia and stammering. De therapie vocis et loquelae. 13th Congr. IALP, vol. 2, pp. 13-19 (1965).

Weiss, D. (1967) Similarities and differences between cluttering and stuttering. Folia Phoniatrica, 19, 105-109.

Weiss, D. (1967) 23. Cluttering. Folia Phoniatrica 19: 233-263.

Weiss, D. (1968) Cluttering: Central language imbalance. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 15, 3, pp. 705-720. Pediatric Clinics of North America

Weiss, D. (1970?) The personality of the clutterer. Society of Biological Psychiatry,

Weiss, D. (1970). Comment on Ephphatha, or, some advice to stammerers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 13 (2), p. 439

Weiss, D. (1971). Introduction to functional voice therapy. Basel: Karger.

Paine, R., Myklebust, H., Weiss, D. (1972). Dyslexia and reading disabilities: Papers. NY: MSS information. https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AWeiss%2C+Deso+A.&qt=hot_author

About Weiss:

Von Leden, H. (1990). Pioneers in the evolution of voice case and voice science in the United States of America. Journal of Voice, 4, 2, 99-106.

Weiss obit: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/20/archives/dr-deso-a-weiss-psychiatrist-and-speech-therapist-is-dead.html

Weiss 60 years by Froeschels (1961) https://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/262908

Weiss 70 years by Luchsinger https://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/263401