Listening to Saudi school-aged Children Who Stutter through drawing and talking

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Child Psychology
• Cross-Cultural Research

Background:

• Limited research exists on children who stutter's (CWS) perspectives, especially in non-Western settings.
• Understanding CWS's self-perceptions is crucial for holistic assessment and intervention.
• Existing methods may not be culturally or contextually appropriate for all CWS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of a drawing-and-talking method for eliciting Saudi CWS's views on talking.
• To adapt an existing drawing protocol for Arabic language and telepractice delivery.
• To explore Saudi CWS's perspectives on their communication experiences.

Main Methods:

• Thirty Saudi children who stutter (CWS), aged 6-10, participated in drawing and discussion tasks.
• Sessions were primarily conducted via telepractice, using an adapted drawing protocol in Arabic.
• Focal Point Analysis was used to evaluate drawing maturity and content.

Main Results:

• The drawing-and-talking approach was feasible, with high child engagement and task completion.
• Drawings often emphasized relationships and positive talking experiences, with few visual stuttering cues.
• Minor adaptations were needed for Arabic and telepractice, indicating cultural and contextual adaptability.

Conclusions:

• The drawing-and-talking method is a promising, feasible approach for understanding CWS's perspectives in diverse contexts.
• This child-centered technique provides valuable insights complementing traditional fluency assessments.
• Further research is warranted to validate this method with larger, varied CWS populations.