About the Authors: Sam Simpson is a speech and language therapist and person centred counsellor with a particular interest in critical disability studies, stammering activism and what stammering can teach us about ourselves and the world. She lives outside London and enjoys gardening and walking her dog in her free time. Christopher Constantino lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Megan, and sons, Augustine and Sebastian. He is a speech-language pathologist at Florida State University. He works clinically with, teaches classes on, and researches how to improve the experience of stuttering. Chris enjoys riding his bicycle. Together with Patrick Campbell, Chris and Sam co-edited the book Stammering Pride and Prejudice: Difference not Defect in 2019.

The measurement of stuttering is usually a quantification of how stuttering negatively affects an individual. One-dimensional measurements might just look at fluency or a speaker’s lack thereof. More nuanced measures might look at the negative impact of stuttering on quality of life. There is nothing wrong with these measures and they can provide useful information, however they do not paint a complete picture. We must always remember that with stuttering, as with most human experience, one size does not fit all. There is more to stuttering than fluency and negative life impact. It is also something many people around the world have gained from, formed a community around, and take pride in. Unfortunately, what we measure can all too often constrain and limit the stories we tell about our stuttering. If we only measure what is problematic about stuttering, our stories become problem-saturated. With this in mind, we set out to design a more comprehensive self-rating scale that expands our understanding of stuttering.

In particular, we wanted to capture two experiences commonly overlooked by stuttering measures. The first is the experience of prejudice or the way society can disable people who stutter. The second is the experience of stuttering pride or the way stutterers can gain from the experience of stuttering. Drawing on research into minority stress, the chronic stress and distress faced by members of minority social groups, we have created a scale that honors both negative life impact as well as stutter-affirming lived experience and ways of making positive meaning around stuttering. Thus, questions explore prejudice events, such as discrimination, stigma awareness and agreement, self-stigma and concealment, as well as intersectionality, stutter-affirming identity, community connectedness and pride.

What you will see below is the first draft. We have not pilot tested the scale, we have not studied its psychometrics, and it is not intended for research use. Rather, we are submitting it to solicit feedback from stutterers and stuttering allies to see whether you think it is a measure worth further development. We hope you will complete it and let us know your experience filling it out. Which questions were you naturally drawn to? Which were more challenging? We would also welcome your thoughts on the balance of questions included, the language used and whether you feel there are any omissions – plus anything else you would like to share!

The Stuttering Pride & Prejudice Scale

Instructions: For both sections put a tick (✓) next to an item for which you have ever agreed. We are not measuring frequency or intensity of experience, just an experience’s presence or absence. For example, if you currently work a job you enjoy and have not had vocational trouble in a long time, but previously had difficulty with job interviews, you would still put a tick (✓) next to number 2 in the Prejudice section. Likewise, if you often dislike stuttering but, in the past, attended a stuttering group and made friends with other people who stutter, you can still put a tick (✓) next to number 4 in the Pride section.

Prejudice: Place a tick  (✓) next to every prompt with which you agree
1	I have had difficulty participating in education or vocational training related to stuttering
2	I have had difficulty finding employment or keeping employment, or have been denied promotion in relation to stuttering
3	I have had difficulty using or accessing technology as a consequence of stuttering
4	I have been rejected or distanced from friends or family in relation to stuttering
5	I have heard negative statements about people who stutter
6	I have been verbally harassed or teased in relation to stuttering
7	I have been threatened with physical harm as a consequence of stuttering
8	I have been pushed, shoved, hit, or had something thrown at me on account of stuttering
9	I have encountered difficulty finding a partner or have had an intimate relationship end related to stuttering
10	I have to repeatedly explain my stuttering to people or correct the misunderstandings people have about stuttering
11	I have to work hard for people to see my competence as a communicator
12	I have been forced to speak against my will (e.g. read aloud in class, give a presentation, attend stuttering therapy, demonstrate my stuttering to others)
13	When I share that I stutter people have minimized it or not believed me
14	To protect myself from negative listener reactions, I change the way I talk and contribute in speaking situations
15	Stuttering is not well represented in the media
16	Stutterers are not respected in my ethnic/racial community
17	Stutterers are not respected in my cultural/religious community
18	Stuttering makes it harder for me to express my gender or sexual identity because of society’s norms and expectations
19	To protect myself from negative listener reactions, I steer clear of certain speaking situations
20	There are things about my stuttering that I keep to myself
21	I fear that if I stutter openly, employers will not employ me due to stereotypes around excellent communication
22	I fear that if I stutter openly, people will think I am unintelligent or less capable than people who don’t stutter
23	I fear that if I stutter openly, people will mistakenly think I am anxious, nervous, or shy
24	If I stutter openly, I could be mocked or discriminated against
25	I try to conceal stuttering and pass as fluent to better navigate social interactions
Add up all your ticks (✓), this is your Prejudice score		/25

Pride: Place a tick  (✓)  next to every prompt with which you agree
1	Being a stutterer is an important part of who I am
2	I am comfortable with people knowing that I stutter
3	To create a stuttering-friendly speaking environment, I share that I stutter
4	I feel connected to other people who stutter
5	I have the right to be heard and am comfortable asking my listener to give me equitable speaking time
6	Stuttering invites others to develop listening practices that create safer and more inclusive speaking environments
7	Stuttering is a form of speech variation not a pathology
8	Stuttering is a gift
9	Stuttering openly is an act of resistance to fluent norms and ideals
10	It takes two to stutter – my listener has a shared responsibility to make space for my stuttering
11	I am comfortable stuttering openly
12	The two-way nature of interaction creates an opportunity for every listener to meet the openness and authenticity of stuttering in a way that fosters shared respect and intimacy
13	When interacting with members of the stuttering community, I feel a sense of belonging
14	Together, people who stutter have improved our culture through their contributions to the arts, humanities and social advocacy
15	My stuttering is a positive part of how I speak
16	I am proud to be a person who stutters
17	Stuttering offers a unique insight into the power of words, the subtlety of language and the importance of listening
18	I feel that the stuttering community makes a valuable contribution to our society
19	Stuttering pride helps me to reject society’s privileging of fluent speech
20	Stuttering brings spontaneity and joy to my life
21	Stuttering brings vulnerability and intimacy to my interactions with others
22	We are a better culture because there are people who stutter in it
23	Stuttering offers me a richness of experience that I would miss out on if I didn’t stutter
24	Stuttering is a unique and interesting aspect of my identity
25	My understanding of other aspects of my identity (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion) positively informs the meaning I make of my stuttering
Add up all your ticks (✓), this is your Pride score		/25

Once you complete the scale, make a note of which score was higher, your pride or prejudice score? We invite you to reflect on what might need to change in society to lower your prejudice score and raise your pride score? What are some active steps we could all take to change either in the right direction?