Communicative ability conceptions among children who stutter and their fluent peers: a qualitative exploration

Meta issues in stuttering were examined by analyzing verbal-descriptive data drawn from structured interviews with 23 male children who stutter (CWS) and their 23 fluent male peers. Participants described others' "good" and "bad" talk behaviors and provided their self-appraisals as talkers. Analysis of interview transcripts suggested that CWS favored unidimensional criteria for describing others' talk behaviors, where others' speech-language forms, particularly allusions to stuttering behaviors, were noted most commonly in the descriptions. In contrast, children who did not stutter used multidimensional criteria to describe others' talk behaviors, where others' speech-language forms and pragmatic behaviors were weighted evenly, particularly for positive descriptions. Additionally, many CWS expressed reservations in describing themselves as "good talkers," whereas their fluent peers provided mainly positive appraisals of their own talking abilities. Outcomes provide evidence that early conceptions of communicative abilities among CWS are influenced by their stuttering experiences and diverge from early communicative ability conceptions among their fluent peers.

The reader will learn about and be able to; (1) recognize the relevance of examining communicative ability conceptions among children who stutter within the context of educational research on ability conceptions in children; (2) identify qualitative methods used to analyze interviews with participants; and (3) appreciate the role of personal experiences in shaping communicative ability conceptions among children who stutter.