Prof. Ofer Amir

Prof. Ofer Amir is a Speech-Language Pathologist who specializes in stuttering and voice disorders. Between 2014 and 2017 he served as the Head of the Department of Communication Disorders and is currently a senior faculty member in the department.

Additional information is available on Prof. Ofer Amir's website: www.oferamir.co.il

After completing his undergraduate (B.A.) and graduate (M.A.) studies in the Department of Communication Disorders at Tel-Aviv University, Prof. Ofer Amir earned his doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Illinois (U.S.A.) in 1998. During 2014-2017 he was the Head of the Department of Communication Disorders at Tel Aviv University, where he teaches, supervises, and conducts research.

In addition to his academic activities, Prof. Ofer Amir runs a private practice, where he diagnoses and treats people-who-stutter and people with various voice disorders. Prof. Amir also performs volunteer work as a senior speech-therapist at the Speech and Hearing Center and the Voice Clinic at the Sheba Medical Center (Tel-Hashomer).

Prof. Ofer Amir's research and clinical interest focus on two major fields: Stuttering and Voice.

In the field of stuttering and other fluency disorders, Prof. Ofer Amir is interested in identifying, quantifying and measuring various fluency characteristics, as well as establishing normative data on speaking rate in Hebrew and exploring therapeutic approaches for stuttering, cluttering and other related fluency disorders. To this end, Prof. Ofer Amir is conducting studies on the perception of stuttering and the acoustic properties of speaking rate, normal dysfluency and especially stuttering. In addition, Prof. Ofer Amir is collaborating with researchers in other research centers, utilizing advanced methods for brain imaging related to stuttering and language.

In the field of voice and voice disorders, Prof. Ofer Amir is highly interested in characterizing vocal properties related to different physical, physiological and emotional conditions, as well as in professional voice users. This line of research involves exploring and identifying acoustic, aerodynamic, and perceptual measures that differentiate between people with and without laryngeal pathologies, people who experience various emotional or social conditions, and people with different hormonal conditions and phases (e.g., using birth-control pills, IVF, etc.). Prof. Amir is also engaged in developing and validating clinical instruments for quantifying the subjective evaluation of voice disorders and fluency disorders. Moreover, Prof. Amir is currently exploring novel approaches for re-arranging the field of voice disorders and the association between voice disorders and personality.

*Updated: Jan. 2021

• Hall, K.D., Amir, O. & Yairi, E. (1999). A longitudinal investigation of speaking rate in preschool children who stutter. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, (6), 1367-1377.
• Most, T., Amir, O., & Tobin, Y. (2000). The Hebrew vowel system: Raw and normalized acoustic data. Language and Speech, 43, (3), 295-308.
• Kishon-Rabin, L., Amir, O. Vexler, Y. & Zaltz, Y. (2001). Pitch discrimination: Are professional musicians better than non-musicians? Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, 12, (2), 125-143.
• Amir, O., Kishon-Rabin, L. & Muchnik C. (2002). The effect of oral contraceptives on voice: Preliminary observations. Journal of Voice, 16, (2), 267-273.
• Amir, O. & Yairi, E. (2002). The effect of temporal manipulation on the perception of disfluencies as normal or stuttering. Journal of Communication Disorders, 35, (1), 65-84.
• Amir, O. & Ezrati-Vinacour R. (2002). Stuttering in a volatile society – Israel. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Science in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, 8, (2), 13-14.
• Amir, O. & Shabtai, E. (2002). Public information services in the field of communication disorders: Comparison between teleservice and E-service. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health, 8, (4), 369-375.
• Subramanian, A., Yairi, E. & Amir, O. (2003). Second format transition in fluent speech of persistent and recovered preschool children who stutter. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36, (1), 59-75.
• Amir, O., Shental, T., Muchnik, C. & Kishon-Rabin, L. (2003). Do oral contraceptives improve voice quality? Limited trial on low-dose formulations. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 101, (4), 773-777.
• Amir, O., Amir, N. & Kishon-Rabin, L. (2003). The effect of superior auditory skills on vocal accuracy. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 113, (2), 1102-1108.
• Ari-Even Roth, D., Amir O., Alaluf, L., Buchsenspanner, S. & Kishon-Rabin, L. (2003). The effect of training on frequency discrimination: Generalization to untrained frequencies and to the untrained ear. Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, 14, (2), 137-150.
• Amir, O. (2003). Voice changes during puberty. Seeing voices, 2, 80. (Hebrew).
• Amir, O. & Kishon-Rabin, L. (2004). Association between birth control pills and voice quality. Laryngoscope, 114, (6), 1021-1026.
• Kishon-Rabin, L., Ari-Even Roth, D., Van Dijk, B., Yinon, T. & Amir O. (2004). Frequency discrimination thresholds: the effect of increment versus decrement detection of frequency. Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology & Pharmacology, 15, (1), 29-40.
• Amir, O. & Biron-Shental, T. (2004). The impact of hormonal fluctuations on female vocal folds. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, 12, (3), 180-184.
• Amir, O., Biron-Shental, T., Barer, T. & Tzenker, O. (2005). Different oral contraceptives and voice quality – An observational study. Contraception, 71, (5), 348-352.
• Amir, O., Amir, N. & Michaeli, O. (2005). Evaluating the influence of warm-up on singing voice quality using acoustic measures. Journal of Voice, 19, (2), 252-260.
• Wolf, M., Primov-Fever, A., Amir, O. & Jedwab, D. (2005). The feasibility of rigid stroboscopy in children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 69, (8), 1077-1079.
• Amir, O., Dukas, M. & Shnaps-Baum, R. (2005). The effect of a “Voice Course” on the voices of people with and without pathologies: Preliminary observations. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 30, (2), 63-71.
• Ezrati-Vinacour, R. & Amir, O. (2005). Stuttering research and treatment around the world: Israel. The ASHA Leader, 10, (14), 8-9.
• Manor, Y., Posen, J., Amir, O., Dori, N. & Giladi, N. (2005). A group intervention model for speech and communication skills in patients with Parkinson's disease: Initial observations. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 26, (2), 94-101.
• Amir, O., Ashkenazi,O., Leibovitzh, T., Michael, O., Tavor, Y. & Wolf, M. (2006). Applying the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) to dysphonic and non dysphonic Hebrew speakers. Journal of Voice, 20, (2), 318-324.
• Amir, O., Tavor, Y., Leibovitzh, T., Ashkenazi, O., Michael, O., Primov-Fever, A. & Wolf, M. (2006). Evaluating the validity of the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) among Hebrew speakers. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 135, (4), 603-607.
• Amir, O., Biron-Shental, T. & Shabtai, E. (2006). Birth control pills and non-professional voice: Acoustic analyses. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 49, (5), 1114-1126.
• Amir, N., Michaeli, O. & Amir, O. (2006). Acoustic and Perceptual Assessment of Vibrato Quality of Singing Students. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 1, (2), 144-150.
• Rochman, D., Diamond, G.M. & Amir, O. (2008). Unresolved anger and sadness: Identifying vocal acoustical correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55, (4), 505-517.
• Amir, O., Wolf, M. & Amir, N. (2009). A clinical comparison between two acoustic analysis softwares: MDVP and Praat. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 4, 202-205.
• Amir, O., Stern, D. & Cohen, N. (2010). Self reports on voice disorders among yeshiva students and university students. The Israeli Journal of Language, Speech and Hearing Disorders, 29, 11-21. (Hebrew).
• Diamond, G.M., Rochman, D. & Amir, O. (2010). Arousing primary vulnerable emotions in the context of unresolved anger: "Speaking about" versus "speaking to". Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, (4), 402-410.
• Ezrati, R., & Amir, O. (2011). Stuttering in early childhood. Israeli Journal of Pediatrics, 75, 37-38 (Hebrew).
• Amir, O., & Grinfeld, D. (2011). Articulation rate in childhood and adolescence: Hebrew speakers. Language and Speech, 54, (2), 225-240.
• Fischer, J., Semple, S., Fickenscher, G., Jürgens, R., Kruse, E., Heistermann. M. & Amir, O. (2011). Do women’s voices provide cues of the likelihood of ovulation? The importance of sampling regime. PLoS One, 6, (9), e24490.
• Amir, O., Engel, M., Shabtai, E., & Amir, N. (2012). Identification of children’s gender and age by listeners. Journal of Voice, 26, (3), 313-321.
• Amir, O., Primov-Fever, A., Kushnir, T., Kandelshine-Waldman, O. & Wolf, M. (2013). Evaluating voice charcteristics of first-year acting-students in Israel: Factor analysis. Journal of Voice. 27, (1), 68-77.
• Amir, O. & Levine-Yundof, R. (2013). Listeners’ attitude toward people with dysphonia. Journal of Voice. 27, (4), 524.e1-10.
• Galili, L., Amir, O. & Gilboa-Schechtman, E. (2013). Acoustic Properties of Dominance and Request Utterances in Social Anxiety. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 32, (6), 651-673.
• Rochman, D. & Amir, O. (2013). Examining in-session expressions of emotions with speech/vocal acoustic measures: An introductory guide. Psychotherapy Research, 23, (4), 381-393.
• Finkelstein, M. & Amir, O. (2013). Speaking rate among professional newscasters:  Hebrew speakers. Studies in Media and Communication, 1, 131-139.
• Primov-Fever, A., Lidor, R., Meckel Y. & Amir, O. (2013). The effect of physical effort on voice characteristics. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 65, 288-293.
• Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Galili, L., Sahar, Y. & Amir, O. (2014). Being "in" or "out" of the game: Subjective and acoustic reactions to exclusion and popularity in social anxiety. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8, (147), 1-13.
• Amir, O., Lebi-Jacob, N. & Harari, O. (2014). The effect of In-Vitro Fertilization treatment on women's voice. Journal of Voice, 28, (4), 518-522.
• Amir, N., Amir, O. & Rosenhouse, J. (2014). Colloquial Arabic vowels in Israel: A comparative acoustic study of two dialects. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 136, (4), 1895-1907.
• Amir, O., Wolf, M., Mick, L., Levi, O. & Primov-Fever, A. (2015). Parents’ evaluations of their Children’s Dysphonia: The Mamas and the Papas. Journal of Voice, 29, (4), 469-475.
• Civier, O., Kronfeld-Duenias, V., Amir, O., ezrati-Vinacour, R. & Ben-Shachar, M. (2015). Reduced fractional anisotropy in the anterior corpus callosum is associated with reduced speech fluency in persistent developmental stuttering. Brain and Language, 143, 20-31.
• Kronfeld-Duenias, V., Amir, O., Ezrati, R., Civier, O. & Ben-Shachar, M. (2016). The frontal aslant tract underlies speech fluency in persistent developmental stuttering. Brain Structure & Function, 221, 365-381.
• Halag-Milo, T., Stoppelman, N., Kronfeld-Duenias, V, Civier, O., Amir, O., Ezrati-Vinacour, R. & Ben-Shachar, M. (2016). Beyond production: Brain responses during speech perception in adults who stutter. NeuroImage: Clinical, 11, 328-338.
• Amir, O. (2016). Speaking Rate among Adult Hebrew Speakers: A Preliminary Observation. Annals of Behavioural Science, 2, (1), 16: 1-9.
• Kronfeld-Duenias,V., Amir, O., Ezrati-Vinacour, R., Civier, O. & Ben-Shachar, M. (2016). Dorsal and ventral language pathways in persistent developmental stuttering. Cortex, 81, 79-92.
• Freud, D., Moria, L., Ezrati-Vinacour, R. & Amir, O. (2016). Turn-taking behaviors during interaction with adults-who-stutter. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 28, 79-92.
• Mansour, J., Amir, O., Sagiv, D., Alon, E. E., Wolf, M. & Primov-Fever, A. (2017). The accuracy of pre-op rigid stroboscopy in the evaluation of voice disorders in children. Journal of Voice, 31, (4), 516.e1-516.e4.
• Aharonson, V., Aharonson, E., Raichlin, Levi, K., Sotzianu, A., Amir, O. & Ovadia-Blechman, Z. (2017). A real-time phoneme counting algorithm and application for speech rate monitoring. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 51, 60-68.
• Kronfeld-Duenias, V., Amir, O., Ezrati-Vinacour, R., Civier, O., & Ben-Shachar, M. (2017). The dorsal language pathways in stuttering: Response to commentary. Cortex, 90, 169-172.
• Freud, D., Kichin-Brin, M., Ezrati-Vinacour, R., Roziner, I. & Amir, O. (2017). The relationship between the experience of stuttering and demographic characteristics of adults who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 52, 53-63.
• Lipschitz, N., Wolf, M., Amir, O., Sagiv, D. & Primov-Fever, A. (2017). Thyroid chondroplasty: Smoothing the thyroid cartilage— A retrospective study of thyroid chondroplasty for feminine neck appearance. International Journal of Transgenderism, 18, (4), 389-394.
• Kronfeld-Duenias, V., Civier, O., Amir, O., Ezrati-Vinacour, R. & Ben-Shachar, M. (2017). White matter pathways in persistent developmental stuttering: Lessons from tractography. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 55, 68-83.
• Freud, D., Ezrati-Vinacour & Amir, O. (2018). Speech rate adjustment of adults during conversation. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 57, 1-10.
• Amir, O., Shapira, Y., Mick, L. & Yaruss, J. S. (2018). The Speech Efficiency Score (SES): A time-domain measure of speech fluency. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 58, 61-69.
• Amir, O., Marroushi-Marrawi, A., Primov-Fever, A. & Freud D. (). The prevalence of self-reported voice disorders in Israel. Journal of Voice, 34(3), 426-434.
• Neumann, K., Euler, H.A., Zens, R., Piskernik, B., Packman, A., St. Louise, K.O., Kell, C.A., Amir, O., Blomgren, M., Aumont Boucand, V., Eggers, K., Fibiger, S., Fourches, A., Frankenn, M.C.J.P. & Finn, P. (2019). "Spontaneous" late recovery from stuttering: Dimensions of reported techniques and causal attributions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 81, 105915, 1-12.
• Amir, O., Shemer, K., Roziner, I. & Primov-Fever, A. (2019). Physical and visual characteristics of the neck predicting gender perception. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery -Global Open, 7, (12), 1-5.
• Freud, D. & Amir, O. (2020). Resilience in people who stutter: Association with covert and overt characteristics of stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 64, 105761, 1-10.
• Amir, O., Marroushi-Marrawi, A., Primov-Fever, A. & Freud D. (2020). The prevalence of self-reported voice disorders in Israel. Journal of Voice, 34(3), 426-434.
• Freud, D. & Amir, O. (2020). ("השפעת האטת קצב דיבור של המאזין על שטף הדיבור–האמנם?") The impact of the conversational partner’s speech rate on speech fluency: A literature review. The Israeli Journal of Language, Speech and Hearing Disorders, 39, 121-131 (Hebrew).
• Diamant, N. & Amir, O. (2021). Examining the voice of Israeli transgender women: Acoustic measures, voice femininity and voice-related quality-of-life. International Journal of Transgender Health, 22(3), 281-293.
• Primov-Fever, A., Roziner, I. & Amir, O. (in press). Songbirds must sing: How artistic voice users perceive their voice in times of COVID-19. Journal of Voice.
• Primov-Fever, A., Amir, O., Roziner I., Maoz-Segal, R., Alon, EE., & Yakirevitch, A. (2021). How face masks influence the sinonasal quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology. March 27, 2021: 1-7.
• Nof, A., Amir, O., Goldstein, P., Zilcha-Mano, S. (2021). What do these sounds tell us about the therapeutic alliance: Acoustic markers as predictors of alliance. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28, 807-817.
• Jossinger, S., Kronfeld-Durnias, V., Zislis, A., Amir, O., Ben-Shachar, M. (2021). Speech rate association with cerebellar white-matter diffusivity in adults with persistent developmental stuttering. Brain Structure and Function, 226, 801-816.
• Tsur, A., Hershkovitz, S., Zucker, I., Lutski, M., Pinhas-Hamiel, O., Vivante, A., Fischman, M., Amir, O., Rotchild, J., Gerstein, H.C., Cukierman-Yaffe, T., Fridenson, L., Mosenzon, O., Derazne, E., Tzur, D., Tirosh, A., Afek, A., Raz, I., Twig, G. (2021). Stuttering and incident type 2 diabetes: a population-based study of 2.2 million adolescents. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 106(4), 978-987.
• Grinstein-Koren, O., Herzog, N. & Amir, O. (in press). Hypo-salivation affecting women’s voice. Journal of Voice.
• Amir, O., Gutman, I., Baken, RJ., Primov-Fever, A., Hertzog, N., Noam, G., & Roziner, I. (in press). Two-dimentioanl scheme for arranging voice disorders. JAMA Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.​