Responses of adults who stutter to the anticipation of stuttering

PurposeMany people who stutter experience the phenomenon of anticipation—the sense that stuttering will occur before it is physically and overtly realized. A systematic investigation of how people who stutter respond to anticipation has not been previously reported. The purposes of this study were to provide self-report evidence of what people do in response to anticipation of stuttering and to determine the extent to which this anticipation occurs.MethodsThirty adults who stutter indicated on a Likert rating scale the extent to which they anticipate stuttering and answered three open-ended (written) questions regarding how they respond to anticipation.ResultsAll participants reported experiencing anticipation at least “sometimes,” and 77% of the participants reported experiencing anticipation “often” or “always.” The extent to which participants reported experiencing anticipation was not related to stuttering severity, impact, or treatment history. Analysis of written responses revealed 24 major categories, which were heuristically divided into action or non-action responses. Categories representing avoidance and self-management strategies were further divided into 14 and 19 subcategories, respectively. Participants were just as likely to view anticipation as helpful as they were to view it as harmful.ConclusionFindings demonstrate that most, if not all, adults who stutter experience anticipation, and the majority of adults who stutter report doing so at least often. Adults who stutter respond to this anticipation by altering the speech production process in various ways. Results highlight the importance of the role that anticipation plays in how stuttering behaviors manifest themselves.Educational Objectives: The reader will be able to: (a) summarize existing literature on the anticipation of stuttering; (b) describe the role and extent of anticipation of stuttering in adults; (c) describe the various ways that adults who stutter respond to anticipation; (d) describe the importance of measuring anticipation in clinical and research domains.     

The relationship between the experience of stuttering and demographic characteristics of adults who stutter

PurposeThis study aims to examine the association between adults’ experience of stuttering and their age, gender and marital status, as well as to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Hebrew version of the OASES-A.MethodsThe Hebrew version of the OASES-A was administered to 91 adults-who-stutter. The validity of the translated version was evaluated using a subset of 43 participants, who also completed three additional instruments: (a) a Perceived Stuttering Severity (PSS) self-rating scale, (b) the Situation Avoidance Behavior Checklist (SABC), (c) the Students Life Satisfaction scale (SLSS). Finally, the correlations between the participants’ OASES-A scores and their age, gender and marital status were calculated.ResultsA negative correlation was found between the participants’ OASES-A impact scores and their age (p < 0.01). In addition, married participants exhibited lower OASES-A impact scores compared with unmarried participants (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the speakers’ gender was not associated with OASES-A impact scores.Resultsrevealed high internal consistency of the Hebrew OASES-A, and moderate to strong correlations with the additional examined instruments. Finally, results of the Hebrew version of the questionnaire were comparable with those obtained in other languages.ConclusionOur results indicated that, within our cohort, age and marital status are significantly associated with the personal experience of stuttering, whereas gender is not. In addition, the Hebrew version of the OASES-A is valid and comparable with equivalent versions in other languages. This facilitates the application of the OASES-A in future clinical and research settings.     

Effect of word phonetic properties on stuttering anticipation and speech production in adults who stutter

PurposeStuttering anticipation is a significant factor in an individual’s stuttering experience. People who stutter have reported words and sounds that they anticipate stuttering on. Attempts at understanding the association between stuttering anticipation and stuttering outcomes and the impact of phonetic properties on stuttering anticipation and overt stuttering have been insufficiently examined. This study aims to address these important issues.MethodsData were collected as part of a larger brain imaging study. Twenty adults who stutter rated a 414 word-list on stuttering anticipation. Participant-specific ‘high’ and ‘low’ anticipated words were selected. Twelve of the 20 participants returned for a second session 2–11 weeks later, during which they read the selected words again and stuttering occurrence was recorded.ResultsAmong the 20 participants, three sub-groups with “high” (N = 6), “moderate” (N = 5) and “low” (N = 9) stuttering anticipation were identified. Significant “high stuttering” anticipation was found on consonants, plosives, bilabials and alveolars, as well as labials and coronals. In 5 of the 8 participants who stuttered during session 2, more than 80 % of words stuttered were previously rated with high anticipation. Consonants, plosives, bilabials and alveolars, and labials and coronals were the most frequently stuttered (>27 %).ConclusionWhile not all adults who stutter demonstrate high word-specific stuttering anticipation, we found that more than half anticipated this to a high degree. Furthermore, both word-specific phonetic properties and stuttering anticipation impact stuttering occurrence. The inclusion of word-specific stuttering anticipation ratings may increase the likelihood of stuttering in experimental studies and improve treatment outcomes through individualized intervention.     

Loci of stuttering of English- and Korean-speaking children who stutter: Preliminary findings

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to determine whether differences exist between young English- and Korean-speaking children who stutter (CWS) in the loci of stuttering.MethodParticipants were 10 Korean-speaking and 11 English-speaking CWS between the ages of 3 and 7 years. Participants produced narratives while viewing various picture scenes and a wordless picture book.ResultsFindings indicated that Korean-speaking CWS stuttered more on content than function words whereas English-speaking CWS stuttered more on function than content words. Furthermore, both Korean- and English-speaking CWS tended to stutter more on utterance-initial words. These findings appear to be related to the differences in linguistic/syntactic structures between Korean and English. Specifically, in the Korean-speaking CWS’s narratives, most utterance-initial words (73.60 %) were content words whereas in the English-speaking CWS’s narratives, most utterance-initial words (83.57 %) were function words.ConclusionThese preliminary findings, although in need of replication with a larger sample size, seem to suggest that the word class (i.e., content/function words) contributions to stuttering loci are more language-specific whereas the word position (i.e., utterance-initial position) contributions to stuttering loci are more language-nonspecific. Given that the true characteristics of stuttering may be rather language-nonspecific than language-specific, further research may need to focus more on stuttering loci related to word position than word class.     

Resilience in people who stutter: Association with covert and overt characteristics of stuttering

PurposeRecent literature stresses the importance of resilience, as a trait, for successful coping with life’s difficulties or stressors. However, only a limited number of studies were conducted on resilience among people-who-stutter (PWS). These studies did not examine the association between resilience and the specific characteristics of stuttering. This study was, therefore, aimed to directly examine the association between resilience and measures of both the covert and overt characteristics of stuttering.MethodThirty adults who stutter completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Overall Assessment of Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering - Adults (OASES-A). In addition, stuttering severity of all participants was quantified using the Stuttering Severity Instrument-4 (SSI-4). The associations between all measures were examined statistically.ResultsA strong and significant association was found between the participants' scores on the CD-RISC and the OASES-A (r= -.79, p < .001). In contrast, no significant correlation was found between the participants' scores in the CD-RISC and the SSI-4 (r = .02, p > .05). Within our cohort, no significant association was observed between the participants’ gender and age and their resilience levels (p > 0.05).ConclusionThis study demonstrates the role of resilience in shaping the individual's experience with stuttering. Results also show that the individuals' resilience levels do not necessarily predict stuttering severity per se, or its overt manifestations but can predict the individuals' subjective perception of his/her stuttering. This highlights the importance of addressing and promoting resilience among PWS in stuttering therapy.     

Real and virtual classrooms can trigger the same levels of stuttering severity ratings and anxiety in school-age children and adolescents who stutter

PurposeMany school-age children and adolescents who stutter experience the fear of public speaking. Treatment implications include the need to address this problem. However, it is not always possible to train repeatedly in front of a real audience. The present study aimed to assess the relevance of using a virtual classroom in clinical practice with school-age children and adolescents who stutter.MethodsTen children and adolescents who stutter (aged 9–17 years old) had to speak in three different situations: in front of a real audience, in front of a virtual class and in an empty virtual apartment using a head-mounted display. We aimed to assess whether the self-rated levels of anxiety while speaking in front of a virtual audience reflect the levels of anxiety reported while speaking in front of a live audience, and if the stuttering level while speaking to a virtual class reflects the stuttering level while speaking in real conditions.ResultsResults show that the real audience creates higher anticipatory anxiety than the virtual class. However, both the self-reported anxiety levels and the stuttering severity ratings when talking in front of a virtual class did not differ from those observed when talking to a real audience, and were significantly higher than when talking in an empty virtual apartment.ConclusionOur results support the feasibility and relevance of using a virtual classroom to expose school-age children and adolescents who stutter to a feared situation during cognitive behavioral therapy targeting the fear of public speaking.     

Psychological characteristics and perceptions of stuttering of adults who stutter with and without support group experience

Purpose

To compare adults who stutter with and without support group experience on measures of self-esteem, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, self-stigma, perceived stuttering severity, perceived origin and future course of stuttering, and importance of fluency.

Method

Participants were 279 adults who stutter recruited from the National Stuttering Association and Board Recognized Specialists in Fluency Disorders. Participants completed a Web-based survey comprised of various measures of well-being including the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, a measure of perceived stuttering severity, the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale, and other stuttering-related questions.

Results

Participants with support group experience as a whole demonstrated lower internalized stigma, were more likely to believe that they would stutter for the rest of their lives, and less likely to perceive production of fluent speech as being highly or moderately important when talking to other people, compared to participants with no support group experience. Individuals who joined support groups to help others feel better about themselves reported higher self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction, and lower internalized stigma and perceived stuttering severity, compared to participants with no support group experience. Participants who stutter as an overall group demonstrated similar levels of self-esteem, higher self-efficacy, and lower life satisfaction compared to averages from normative data for adults who do not stutter.

Conclusions

Findings support the notion that self-help support groups limit internalization of negative attitudes about the self, and that focusing on helping others feel better in a support group context is linked to higher levels of psychological well-being.Educational objectives: At the end of this activity the reader will be able to: (a) describe the potential psychological benefits of stuttering self-help support groups for people who stutter, (b) contrast between important aspects of well-being including self-esteem self-efficacy, and life satisfaction, (c) summarize differences in self-esteem, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, self-stigma, perceived stuttering severity, and perceptions of stuttering between adults who stutter with and without support group experience, (d) summarize differences in self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction between adults who stutter and normative data for adults who do not stutter.     

Comparison of pausing behavior in children who stutter and children who have Asperger syndrome

Purpose

The objective of this research was to compare the number and types of grammatical and non-grammatical silent pauses presented by stutterers and subjects with Asperger syndrome in their narratives.

Method

Ten children who stutter and four participants with Asperger syndrome (mean ages of both groups 10 years) were assessed at the Speech and Language Disorders Department of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Brasil. They narrated a story based on a pre-selected sequence of pictures. They were filmed and their productions were analyzed using version 5.0.47 of Praat (http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_win.html). Silent intervals in the speech that ranged from 0.25 to 4 s were considered pauses. The pauses were classified as grammatical and non-grammatical, depending on the words that preceded and followed them.

Results

Both groups presented grammatical and non-grammatical pauses and the former predominated. The children with Asperger syndrome produced a greater number of pauses than the stutterers.Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) characterize the use of pauses in the oral narrative; (2) distinguish a grammatical pause from a non-grammatical pause regarding the use and function; (3) recognize the pattern of pause found in the two populations.     

Brain activity in adults who stutter: similarities across speaking tasks and correlations with stuttering frequency and speaking rate

Many differences in brain activity have been reported between persons who stutter (PWS) and typically fluent controls during oral reading tasks. An earlier meta-analysis of imaging studies identified stutter-related regions, but recent studies report less agreement with those regions. A PET study on adult dextral PWS (n = 18) and matched fluent controls (CONT, n = 12) is reported that used both oral reading and monologue tasks. After correcting for speech rate differences between the groups the task-activation differences were surprisingly small. For both analyses only some regions previously considered stutter-related were more activated in the PWS group than in the CONT group, and these were also activated during eyes-closed rest (ECR). In the PWS group, stuttering frequency was correlated with cortico-striatal-thalamic circuit activity in both speaking tasks. The neuroimaging findings for the PWS group, relative to the CONT group, appear consistent with neuroanatomic abnormalities being increasingly reported among PWS.     

Self-efficacy and quality of life in adults who stutter

PurposeSelf-efficacy has emerged as a potential predictor of quality of life for adults who stutter. Research has focused primarily on the positive relationship self-efficacy has to treatment outcomes, but little is known about the relationship between self-efficacy and quality of life for adults who stutter. The purpose of this mixed- methods study is to determine the predictive value of self-efficacy and its relationship to quality of life for adults who stutter.MethodThe Self-Efficacy Scale for Adult Stutterers and the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience with Stuttering were administered to 39 adults who stutter, aged 18– 77. Percentage of syllables stuttered was calculated from a conversational speech sample as a measure of stuttered speech frequency. Qualitative interviews with semi-structured probes were conducted with 10 adults and analyzed using thematic analysis to explore the lived experience of adults who stutter.ResultsSelf-efficacy emerged as a strong positive predictor of quality of life for adults living with a stuttered speech disorder. Stuttered speech frequency was a moderate negative predictor of self-efficacy. Major qualitative themes identified from the interviews with the participants were: encumbrance, self-concept, confidence, acceptance, life-long journey, treatment, and support.ConclusionResults provide clarity on the predictive value of self-efficacy and its relationship to quality of life and stuttered speech frequency. Findings highlight that the unique life experiences of adults who stutter require a multidimensional approach to the assessment and treatment of stuttered speech disorders.     

Cognitive control of action naming in adults who stutter

PurposeBased on previous evidence that cognitive control of lexical selection in object (noun) naming operates differently in adults who stutter (AWS) versus typically-fluent adults (TFA), the aim was to investigate cognitive control of lexical selection in action (verb) naming in AWS.Method12 AWS and 12 TFA named line drawings depicting actions using verbs. Half of the pictures had high-agreement action names and the other half low-agreement action names. Naming accuracy and reaction times (RT), and event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to picture onset, were compared between groups.ResultsNaming RTs were slower for low- versus high-agreement trials, and the magnitude of this effect was larger in AWS versus TFA. Delta-plot analysis of naming RTs revealed that individual differences in selective inhibition were associated with the agreement effect on naming RTs in AWS but not TFA. Action naming elicited frontal-central N2 activity in both agreement conditions in TFA but not AWS. Additionally, a later, posterior P3b component was affected by agreement in TFA only. In AWS, low-agreement action naming elicited frontal P3a activation.ConclusionsResults suggest that cognitive control of action name selection was qualitatively different between groups. In TFA, cognitive control of lexical selection in action naming involved nonselective inhibition, as well as more efficient working memory updating on high- versus low-agreement trials. In AWS, cognitive control of low-agreement action naming involved increased focal attention. Individual differences in selective inhibition may have moderated cognitive control of action naming in AWS.     

Emotional reactivity and regulation in preschool-age children who stutter

Purpose.

This study experimentally investigated behavioral correlates of emotional reactivity and emotion regulation and their relation to speech (dis)fluency in preschool-age children who do (CWS) and do not (CWNS) stutter during emotion-eliciting conditions.

Method.

Participants (18 CWS, 14 boys; 18 CWNS, 14 boys) completed two experimental tasks (1) a neutral (“apples and leaves in a transparent box,” ALTB) and (2) a frustrating (“attractive toy in a transparent box,” ATTB) task, both of which were followed by a narrative task. Dependent measures were emotional reactivity (positive affect, negative affect), emotion regulation (self-speech, distraction) exhibited during the ALTB and the ATTB tasks, percentage of stuttered disfluencies (SDs) and percentage of non-stuttered disfluencies (NSDs) produced during the narratives.

Results.

Results indicated that preschool-age CWS exhibited significantly more negative emotion and more self-speech than preschool-age CWNS. For CWS only, emotion regulation behaviors (i.e., distraction, self-speech) during the experimental tasks were predictive of stuttered disfluencies during the subsequent narrative tasks. Furthermore, for CWS there was no relation between emotional processes and non-stuttered disfluencies, but CWNS's negative affect was significantly related to nonstuttered disfluencies.

Conclusions.

In general, present findings support the notion that emotional processes are associated with childhood stuttering. Specifically, findings are consistent with the notion that preschool-age CWS are more emotionally reactive than CWNS and that their self-speech regulatory attempts may be less than effective in modulating their emotions.Educational objectives. The reader will be able to: (a) communicate the relevance of studying the role of emotion in developmental stuttering close to the onset of stuttering and (b) describe the main findings of the present study in relation to previous studies that have used different methodologies to investigate the role of emotion in developmental stuttering of young children who stutter.     

Phoneme monitoring in silent naming and perception in adults who stutter

The present study investigated phonological encoding skills in persons who stutter (PWS). Participants were 10 PWS (M = 31.8 years, S.D. = 5.9) matched for age, gender, and handedness with 12 persons who do not stutter (PNS) (M = 24.3 years, S.D. = 4.3). The groups were compared in a phoneme monitoring task performed during silent picture naming. The phonological complexity of the target items in the task was varied such that participants monitored either compound words or noun phrases. Performance in this task was compared to phoneme monitoring performed on aurally presented target words to investigate whether any differences observed in silent naming were also evident in perception. Analysis of the response time data, in milliseconds, indicated that PWS were significantly slower as compared to PNS in phoneme monitoring during silent naming; group differences were not obtained in the perception task. The groups were also comparable in the response time to phoneme monitoring within compound words and noun phrases in both silent naming and perception. The findings suggested that PWS were slower in the encoding of segmental, phonological units during silent naming. Furthermore, absence of such differences in perception ruled out a general monitoring deficit in PWS. Findings are interpreted within the context of the psycholinguistic theories of stuttering that postulate phonological encoding and/or monitoring as a causal variable in stuttering.

Educational objectives: As a result of this activity, the participant should: (1) describe relevant literature on phonological encoding skills in children and adults who stutter, (2) identify paradigms that can be used to investigate phonological processing in PWS, and (3) discuss the role of phonological encoding in speech production.     

A systematic review of interventions for adults who stutter

PurposeTo examine the effectiveness of (i) face to face interventions (ii) models of service delivery and (iii) psychological treatments combined with speech-focused interventions for adults who stutter.MethodsFive electronic databases and three clinical trial registries were searched. Systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and studies that applied an intervention with adults who stutter were included. Pharmaceutical interventions were excluded. Primary outcomes included a measure of stuttering severity. Risk of bias assessment was conducted on included studies and overall quality of the evidence was graded.ResultsFive RCTS, four registered trials and three systematic reviews met inclusion criteria. Intervention approaches included speech restructuring programs (e.g. Camperdown Program) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). One study investigated cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) alongside speech restructuring. Overall, studies were classified low risk of bias and good quality. Speech restructuring was included in all but one study (tDCS study) and had the most evidence i.e. supported by the greatest number of RCTs. On average, stuttering frequency was reduced by 50–57 % using speech restructuring approaches. No study reduced stuttering to the same level as community controls who don’t stutter. The study on tDCS reduced stuttering frequency by 22–27 %. Speech restructuring delivered via telehealth was non-inferior to face-to-face intervention. One study reported CBT was an effective adjunct to speech restructuring interventions.ConclusionSpeech restructuring interventions were found to reduce stuttering in adults, however degree and maintenance of fluency varied. The body of evidence surrounding tDCS and psychological interventions is limited. Replication studies should be considered.     

Life experiences of people who stutter, and the perceived impact of stuttering on quality of life: personal accounts of South African individuals

The purpose of the study was to investigate the life experiences of a group of South African adults who stutter and the impact of stuttering on their quality of life. Participants were 16 adults with a mean age of 28.9 and ranging from 20 to 59 years. Methods involved individual interviews designed to explore the life domains of education; social life; employment; speech therapy; family and marital life; and identity, beliefs and emotional issues. Main findings of the study indicated that the majority of participants perceived their stuttering to have impacted on their academic performance at school, and relationships with teachers and classmates. Although their stuttering was not perceived to adversely influence their ability to establish friendships, people generally reacted negatively to their stuttering. Many felt that their stuttering did not have an adverse effect on their choice of occupation, ability to obtain work, and relationships with managers and co-workers, although it was perceived to influence their work performance and hamper their chances for promotion. Although the majority viewed their speech therapy experiences as being negative; more than half the sample believed that speech therapy had, nevertheless exerted a positive effect on their quality of life. Overall, stuttering did not appear to have influenced participants’ family and marital life. Most participants felt that stuttering had affected their self-esteem and self-image, and had evoked strong emotions within them. Findings are taken to suggest the need to incorporate subjective feelings about stuttering into the clinical practice of speech-language therapy; to provide information and coping strategies for teachers and employers; and for further research.

Educational objectives: After completing this activity, the reader will be able to: (1) describe and explain the perceived impact of stuttering on quality of life in terms of education; social life; employment; speech therapy; family and marital life; and identity, beliefs and emotional issues; (2) to interpret and utilize the subjective meanings that individuals attach to their stuttering to improve stuttering treatment, counseling and research.     

Speech sound articulation abilities of preschool-age children who stutter

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between speech sound articulation and childhood stuttering in a relatively large sample of preschool-age children who do and do not stutter, using the Goldman–Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 (GFTA-2; Goldman & Fristoe, 2000).

Method

Participants included 277 preschool-age children who do (CWS; n = 128, 101 males) and do not stutter (CWNS; n = 149, 76 males). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were performed to assess between-group (CWS versus CWNS) differences on the GFTA-2. Additionally, within-group correlations were performed to explore the relation between CWS’ speech sound articulation abilities and their stuttering frequency and severity, as well as their sound prolongation index (SPI; Schwartz & Conture, 1988).

Results

No significant differences were found between the articulation scores of preschool-age CWS and CWNS. However, there was a small gender effect for the 5-year-old age group, with girls generally exhibiting better articulation scores than boys. Additional findings indicated no relation between CWS’ speech sound articulation abilities and their stuttering frequency, severity, or SPI.

Conclusions

Findings suggest no apparent association between speech sound articulation—as measured by one standardized assessment (GFTA-2)—and childhood stuttering for this sample of preschool-age children (N = 277).Educational objectives: After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (1) discuss salient issues in the articulation literature relative to children who stutter; (2) compare/contrast the present study's methodologies and main findings to those of previous studies that investigated the association between childhood stuttering and speech sound articulation; (3) identify future research needs relative to the association between childhood stuttering and speech sound development; (4) replicate the present study's methodology to expand this body of knowledge.     

Rhyming abilities in a dual-task in school-age children who stutter

PurposeWe compared school-age children who stutter (CWS) and age and gender matched control participants (CWNS) in a dual-task involving a word-level rhyming task and a tone task involving pitch decisions.MethodsParticipants were 30 children (CWS, n = 15) between 7 and 16 years. Auditory word – picture stimuli pairs from the rhyme task were categorized into nonrhyme (e.g., bear-cart), rhyme (e.g., bear-pear), and replica (e.g., bear-bear) categories. The effort associated with managing resources in the dual-task was varied through the manipulation of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the stimuli of the two tasks. Mixed methods analyses of the response time (RT, ms) and error (%) data were conducted with Group, Category, and SOA as the fixed effects and participants as the random effect. Age and phoneme awareness skills were included in the analyses.ResultsMore rhyming errors and a significant positive correlation between rhyming errors and age was observed in the CWS compared to the CWNS. Compared to the CWNS, a higher percentage of rhyming errors was observed in the rhyme than the nonrhyme and replica categories in the CWS in both the SOA conditions, and this effect was influenced by age and phoneme awareness skills. Analysis of the tone task data indicated that a subgroup of CWNS with higher phoneme awareness skills showed reduced RT difference between the long and the short SOA conditions thereby suggesting higher efficiency with resource allocation for dual tasking. Task-specific differences between the CWS and CWNS are interpreted to suggest limitations in the encoding of the phonological aspects of covert speech in a dual-task.     

Preliminary study of self-perceived communication competence amongst adults who do and do not stutter

PurposeAdults who stutter report a significant impact of stuttering on their quality of life, including negative thoughts and attitudes toward communication. In addition to this impact, adolescents who stutter also report lower levels of self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) compared to fluent peers. The purpose of this study was to extend the investigation of SPCC to adults who do and do not stutter. Additional aims investigated included if 1) SPCC predicted overall impact of stuttering, and, 2) stuttering frequency predicted SPCC among adults who stutter.MethodsTwenty-four adults who stutter and twenty-seven adults who do not stutter matched for age, gender, and education completed the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale (Richmond & McCroskey, 1997). All participants who stutter completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES [ages 18+]; Yaruss & Quesal, 2006) and speaking samples to measure stuttering frequency.ResultsAdults who stutter reported significantly lower SPCC scale total scores than adults who do not stutter. For adults who stutter, lower SPCC scale scores significantly predicted more severe overall impact of stuttering as measured by the OASES. Stuttering frequency did not predict SPCC scale scores.DiscussionThis is the first study to report differences in self-perceived communication competence between adults who do and do not stutter. Results suggest adults who stutter report lower self-perceived communication competence compared to adults who do not stutter. Adults who perceive themselves to have greater communication competence reported less severe overall impact of stuttering, and stuttering frequency did not influence SPCC. Clinical implications for intervention are discussed.