Future Research & Assessments
Hi! My name is Sarah Ortiz and I am a second year graduate student at Stephen F. Austin State University.
Since stuttering can present in such a wide variety socially, emotionally, and neurologically, how can future research better capture this variability in order to guide more individualized treatment protocols/outcome measures that go beyond fluency counts alone?
Thank you in advance for any feedback!!
Hi Sarah, I’m in Longview, TX so not far from you! 🙂 I believe the best way to guide individualized treatment is to measure the IMPACT of stuttering in someone’s life. If you’re looking for a formal tool to measure impact, the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (https://stutteringtherapyresources.com/pages/oases) is excellent, and there are versions for school-age, teens, and adults. There are also other helpful questionnaires available, like the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24), or the Speech Situation Checklist, or the Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory, to name a few. – Ana Paula Mumy
Hi Sarah,
As Ana Paula already wrote, it is more important to look at the way the stuttering influences the daily life of the client. Fluency counts cannot show us when someone uses other words or avoids words for example by describing it. Some people I know have used different words for the words they block at and have done so for years. So we do not hear the stutter, because they became pro’s at hiding!
This is why I have skipped counting more than 2 decades ago. It does not tell me what I want to know.
In the end I want my clients to say what they want to say, whenever and however, without being disturbed by the stutters.
Manon
Hi Sarah,
So great that you’re thinking about future research that goes beyond fluency! I’d love to see more research, guided by what people who stutter think is important. I personally really hope for more research around those factors that are supportive of thriving with stuttering and looking at influences that come from within the community, such as stuttering pride, Nic
Thank you for your interesting and important question, Sarah!
Personally, I find several formal measures valuable, such as the Satisfaction with Communication in Everyday Speaking Situations (SCESS) scale. This tool consists of only one question and was developed by Karimi and colleagues (2018, revised version). The SCESS correlates well with other well-known behavioral and psychosocial measures, such as for example OASES, self-reported stuttering severity, and unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about stuttering.
I also find the Wright & Ayre Stuttering Self-Rating Profile (WASSP; 2000) to be a useful tool. It is a comprehensive questionnaire with five sub-scales that address the overt, covert, and social dimensions of stuttering. Like the other measures, the WASSP can help clinicians plan therapy and evaluate progress by assessing the individual’s perceptions of stuttering and its impact on their life.
Another valuable instrument is the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, a brief self-report questionnaire that measures current well-being over the past two weeks using only five statements rated on a 6-point scale. Similarly, questionnaires that assess overall quality of life (QOL) are simple to administer and very helpful in understanding the person’s overall functioning. These tools are available in many different languages.
Lastly, I want to highlight the Short Form of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Hatcher & Gillaspy, 2006), which is one of my favorite measures. I have used it extensively in research and continue to employ it in my clinical practice. By evaluating the bond, goals, and tasks within therapy, the WAI can help identify issues that need to be addressed to enhance the therapeutic process.
Best wishes from Hilda