Parents' speech and children's stuttering: a critique of the literature

The role of parents in relation to their children's stuttering has been of great interest to speech-language pathologists for more than 50 years. As part of treatment, speech-language pathologists frequently advise parents to modify their speech behaviors when talking with their children. For example, parents are often told to speak more slowly and to refrain from interrupting or questioning the child excessively. Given the commonness of this advice, it is important to examine the research upon which it is based. This article contains a critical review of the literature concerning the role of parents' speech behaviors (e.g., rate, interruptions, question-asking) in relation to their children's stuttering. Published studies are reported and analyzed in order to determine the extent to which parents may affect their children's stuttering through their own speech behaviors. The review indicates that there is little convincing evidence to support the view that parents of children who stutter differ from parents of children who do not stutter in the way they talk with their children. Similarly, there is little objective support for the argument that parents' speech behaviors contribute to children's stuttering or that modifying parents' speech behaviors facilitates children's fluency. Implications for treatment and for future research are discussed.