Speech-language pathologists' connotations of stuttering

In a study to elicit clinicians' connotative meanings regarding stuttering, 206 practicing speech-language pathologists participated. A semantic differential technique was utilized for gathering responses to seven concepts in the domain of stuttering on five meaning dimensions. The background variables of clinicians' age, academic degree, clinical experience, ASHA certification, and academic coursework in stuttering were also measured. Results indicated that increasing age, higher degrees, more coursework, or more clinical experience did not produce more positive connotations among speech-language pathologists. Those holding the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology showed more positive connotative responses than the noncertified group. Speech-language pathologists do respond differently on meaning dimensions for concepts in the domain of stuttering. The concept stuttering was evaluated more positively than all others, whereas the concept stuttering therapy was evaluated more negatively than any of the other six. Concepts which referred to individuals who stutter were viewed in a similar negative way regardless of age or sex. The subjects did not respond to the concept parents of stutters as negatively as they did toward those who stutter.