Listener perceptions of stuttering and stuttering modification techniques

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to analyse naïve listener perceptions of speech containing unmodified stuttering, use of the pull-out technique, and use of preparatory-sets.MethodParticipants (N = 62) were randomly assigned to listen to one audio sample (unmodified stuttered speech, speech with pull-outs, or speech with preparatory-sets) and completed a survey assessing perceptions of the speaker’s speech and personality and the listener’s comfort level and willingness to social interact with the speaker.ResultsSurvey results revealed low perceptual ratings in all experimental conditions. Unmodified stuttered speech received significantly more positive ratings than the stuttering modification conditions in all measurements except for speech naturalness. Listeners reported being less willing to socially interact with those who use preparatory-sets than unmodified stuttered speech.ConclusionThe use of stuttering modification techniques did not improve listeners’ perceptions or willingness to interact with persons who stutter. Clinicians and those who stutter should be aware that the use of speech techniques will not decrease negative social interactions or stereotypes.     

Horn stuttering

This is a case report on an adult male stutterer who also exhibited stuttering-like behavior while playing the French horn. The effects of speech fluency targets on the playing and the physiological and psychological correlates between the stutter in speech and the “stuttering-like” behaviors when playing an instrument are discussed. Etiological implications are considered.     

The chronic perseverative stuttering syndrome; Incurable stuttering

After recounting the story of Todd to illustrate the significance of the issue, the chronic perseverative stuttering (CPS) syndrome is defined and its characteristics identified. After a discussion of treatment goals for the CPS syndrome client, the significance of its identification in the client's teenage years and its relevance to support groups for stutterers, the paper concludes with a call for acknowledging the reality of the CPS syndrome and for establishing realistic therapy goals in view of its existence.     

Flute stuttering

A case is reported of a stutterer who exhibited stuttering-like behavior while playing the flute in a highly competitive school orchestra. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Acquired stuttering

Working from a case of degeneration of the nervous system accompanied by stutterlike repetitions, this article raises the question whether patients should be said to have acquired stuttering when they evidence only one of the typical symptoms of the syndrome. On the other hand, it is shown that when acquired stuttering is polysymptomatic, it can hardly be distinguished from developmental stuttering on the basis of the patient's verbal behavior. This may have important medicolegal implications. When acquired stuttering occurs in the context of aphasia, both affections appear to be relatively independent of each other. Specifically, there seems to be no causal relationship between them.     

Rethinking covert stuttering

PurposeThe experience of passing as fluent, also called covert stuttering, has been uncritically framed as an inherently negative pursuit. Historically passing has been understood as a repression of one’s true, authentic self in response to either psychological distress or social discrimination. The authors of this paper seek a more nuanced understanding of passing. We ask, how must a person relate to herself in order to pass as fluent?MethodologyThis is a qualitative research study in which the authors utilized the ethical theories of philosopher Michel Foucault to contextualize data obtained from semi-structured interviews with nine participants who pass as fluent.ResultsRather than a repression of an authentic self our data suggests passing is more usefully understood as a form of resistance by people who stutter to a hostile society. Participants learned from experiences of delegitimization that their stuttering had ethical ramifications. Consequently, they used a variety of self-forming practices to pass and thereby achieve the privileges that come with perceived able-bodiedness.ConclusionPassing as fluent is not an inauthentic form of stuttering but a form of stuttering that is produced through the use of specific technologies of communication. These technologies of communication are constituted by the unique ethical relationship of the person who stutters with herself. Passing can be understood as an active form of resistance rather than a passive form of repression. By theorizing passing as fluent as an ethical relationship, we open up the possibility of changing the relationship and performing it differently.     

Tokens for stuttering

Four young stutterers were observed during 10 weekly sessions. Each session was divided into pretreatment, treatment, and posttreatment segments. Redeemable tokens were administered contingent upon stuttering behaviors in the treatment segment of the Experimental condition. In a Parallel Control condition, no tokens were administered during the entire session. The differences between the pretreatment and treatment segments were compared for the two conditions. Three subjects had dramatically fewer stuttering behaviors when tokens were being administered, while the fourth had more stuttering under the same condition. The subject whose stuttering increased had a history of therapy in which voluntary, “faked” stuttering had been called for, and the behaviors that increased were judged to be of this type. The decreases were interpreted as suggesting that the contingent tokens acted to countercondition the aversiveness of the stuttering experience, which reduced the anticipation of stuttering and hence the stuttering itself. The increase was felt to be simple reinforcement. The counterconditioning interpretation was borne out in two clinical applications in which money was presented contingent on stuttering behaviors judged to be aversive to the stutterer, and in which dramatically sudden, but long-lasting, improvement was seen.     

Stroke-associated acquired stuttering

In this case report, the syndrome of acquired stuttering is described including its etiology, common presenting features, and differences from developmental stuttering. A case is described in an elderly female patient with sudden acquired stuttering associated with ischemic infarct near the left basal ganglia.     

Teacher attitudes toward stuttering

Attitudes of 100 elementary school teachers toward stuttering were studied using the Teacher Attitudes Toward Stuttering (TATS) Inventory. Teacher attitudes, as indicated by TATS Inventory scores, were compared with teacher knowledge of stuttering, age of teacher, number of years teaching experience, educational level, and whether the teacher had personal experience with a stutterer. Results indicated that significant positive correlations existed between teacher attitudes toward and knowledge of stuttering. Significant negative correlations were demonstrated between teacher attitudes/knowledge of stuttering and the presence of a stuttering child in the classroom. The applicability of the TATS Inventory as a clinical instrument in its current form and the research needed to enhance its flexibility are discussed.     

Forensic verification of stuttering

Although distinguishing between actual and pseudostuttering is usually straightforward, there are occasions, such as the case described, when the distinction is problematic. The subject of this report is a 33-year-old man who was accused of child molestation, and whose speech was a decisive issue in an earlier trial. The results of a speech assessment indicated that the subject was probably a stutterer, although there was no feasible means to determine his actual severity. It is suggested that, for several reasons, he probably could have been fluent during the criminal circumstances described. The author's conclusions, and recommendations to speech pathologists facing similar cases, are presented.     

Teacher perceptions of stuttering

The attitudes of 521 teachers in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama City School (82% of the teacher population) toward stuttering were assessed using the Teachers' Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory (TPSI). The TPSI consists of five teacher identification questions and 10 attitudinal statements about which teachers are asked to indicate their strength of agreement. Results indicated that a significant number of teachers hold unsubstantiated beliefs concerning the etiology of stuttering and the personality characteristics of stutterers. Teachers having experience with stutterers or having had course work in speech disorders indicated more realistic attitudes toward stutterers and expressed more demanding attitudes toward stutterers in the classroom situation. In view of the potential positive role teachers can play in assisting stutterers, the results were interpreted as suggesting a need for teachers to receive either preservice or inservice instruction with respect to the problem of stuttering.     

Controversies about stuttering therapy

Current controversies with respect to (1) the need to attend to the feelings and attitudes of stutterers; (2) the teaching of controlled stuttering as opposed to shaping fluency; (3) criteria for determining successful therapy; (4) the problem of relapse; and (5) therapy for the young stutterer are briefly discussed. It is noted that while there may be many controversies in the area of stuttering therapy, the author presently believes that the issue of whether or not to attent to the feelings and attitudes of stutterers is the most important and that the proliferation on the market of exclusively behavior-oriented therapy programs may be fostering the training of technicians without the skills necessary to assist others in identifying and handling feelings and attitudes.     

The epigenesis of stuttering

This paper examines the data on which the Demands and Capacities Model (DCM) is based with the purpose of identifying areas where future research might determine consilience among genetic influences at the physiological, behavioral, and cultural levels. The determination of consilience across different levels would tend to validate the genetic influence on stuttering, but more importantly it would also sharpen the focus of researchers interested in the various possible expressions that genetic influences might have and the way in which they influence the development of the disorder.

Educational objectives: The reader will (1) learn about the distinction, as outlined in the DCM, between environmental/contextual influences on stuttering development and intrinsic/genetic influences on stuttering development; (2) learn about the concept of consilience and its usefulness in conferring validity on parallel constructs at the physiological, behavioral, and cultural levels of stuttering theory; and (3) be able to identify potential areas for research that might help in refining our understanding of the genetic influences on stuttering development.