Attitudes of speech and language therapists towards stammering: 1985 and 2000

Abstract

The survey indicated that although therapists were more positive about some aspects of stammering, the treatment of stammering remains a complex issue. All therapists working with clients who stammer would therefore benefit from undertaking ongoing professional development in this area such as additional training, liaison with colleagues and joining a special interest group.

Speech pathology student clinician attitudes and beliefs towards people who stutter: A mixed-method pilot study

“…However there are equivocal findings on the effects of education on attitudes towards people who stutter. Crichton-Smith, Wright, and Stackhouse (2003) found significant differences in speech pathologists who had completed specialised stuttering courses and those who had not. This was primarily regarding attitudes towards stuttering, as well as positive attitudes towards people who stutter.…”

“…These inconsistencies may be explained by the different training level of participants. Crichton-Smith et al (2003) compared speech pathologists with and without specialised stuttering courses, whereas Swartz et al (2009) discussed the standard stuttering theory and practice taught in speech pathology courses.…”

“…Investigations which have strived to determine the extent to which speech pathologists lack appropriate preparation to work with people who stutter have found that speech pathologists felt less comfortable working with clients who stutter compared to clients with articulation disorders (Crichton-Smith et al, 2003;Mavis et al, 2013). In fact, Crichton-Smith et al (2003) indicated that stuttering was the least popular aspect of therapists' caseload; that therapists held more negative attributions concerning people who stutter and more generally reported less clinical success for people who stutter.…”

“…In fact, Crichton-Smith et al (2003) indicated that stuttering was the least popular aspect of therapists' caseload; that therapists held more negative attributions concerning people who stutter and more generally reported less clinical success for people who stutter. In terms of student's preparedness and confidence to treat stuttering, Lee (2014) found that speech pathologists' education around stuttering and their clinical experience helped them to be more prepared for treating people who stutter.…”

Evidence-based practice in stuttering: Some questions to consider

“…However, it is possible that an educational emphasis on the growing body of basic research on the nature of stuttering has led clinicians to apply an educationally enculturated form of clinical bias in dealing with accumulated evidence of neurophysiological, physiological, neurolinguistic and cognitive factors in the disorder. Because so much research into developmental disorders now emphasizes "constitutional" factors in their etiology, I do not find it surprising that surveys show a recent slight downturn in interest in the use of purely operant programs (Crichton- Smith, Wright, & Stackhouse, 2003;Kuhr, 1994) by clinicians. The "traditional" approaches tend to emphasize components that include fluency shaping, stuttering modification, densensitization and establishment of self-efficacy and locus of control (LOC), each of which has therapy goals grounded in part in neurophysiological research.…”