A tactic for facilitating social interaction with laryngectomees

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the tactic of acknowledging the handicap in interactions between laryngectomized and nonlaryngectomized individuals. Two male laryngectomees were videotaped under two experimental conditions. One condition they acknowledged their laryngectomy, use of esophageal speech, problems, etc. The other condition they did not acknowledge their problem. Results indicated that listeners preferred the speaker when he discussed the handicap. Limitations of the study and clinical implications are discussed.