Dimensions of improvement in stuttering

This paper presents a first approximation of the dimensional structure of stuttering improvement and its hierarchical organization. A set of 288 statements obtained from stutterers, indicating ways in which they felt their stuttering problems had improved, were assigned to dimensions by three clinicians who had considerable experience in the area of stuttering. They also were rated for the amount of improvement the changes reported usually represent by 26 clinicians who were regarded as authorities in the area of stuttering. The statements are ordered on the improvement continuum, by dimension, based upon the medians of the ratings assigned to them. The ordering of the statement set appears to be highly reliable.