Using similar state verification guidelines, this survey showed that a large percentage of preschool through high school students possessed a verified fluency disorder and a phonological and/or language disorder. Thus, clinicians need to be aware of the strong possibility that school-age children who stutter might have a phonological disorder and/or a language disorder. Additionally, because the majority of respondents used a blended treatment approach when treating children with a fluency and a verified concomitant phonological and/or language disorder, it appears that many school-based clinicians believe it is best to address both problems simultaneously.

The purpose of this survey was to obtain updated information on school-based speech-language pathologists’ training, confidence, attitudes, and perceptions associated with treating school-age children who stutter. A second goal was to investigate the impact of impending specialization training in fluency on service delivery to children who stutter. A total of 278 out of 500 (56%) randomly selected school clinicians certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) responded to the survey. The results showed a general improvement over previous reports in clinicians’ training, confidence, and attitudes concerning providing assessment and intervention services to school-age children who stutter. However, clinicians who received their degrees in the mid-to-late 1970s were less positive regarding their preparation to evaluate and treat preschool children who stutter than those clinicians who received their degrees within the last 10 years. The results also showed that respondents have fewer successes with adolescents who stutter than with any other student age group. Although a large majority of respondents would consult and request assistance from a "fluency specialist" if one were available, only 40% reported that specialists in fluency were needed in the schools. The results suggest that university training programs need to continue offering clinical experiences with school-age children who stutter and courses devoted exclusively to fluency disorders in order to develop clinicians who feel confident evaluating and treating fluency disorders.

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This study explored multiple effects of listener perceptions of different levels of simulated stuttering and fluency. A single stuttered speech sample was modified to create four additional samples of stuttering and fluency. A sixth sample of a nonstuttered signal served as a comparative baseline. Each of 60 independent listeners made quantitative and qualitative perceptual judgments upon hearing only one of the six randomly assigned samples. Results showed a broad spectrum of qualitative and quantitative listener perceptions of the various levels of stuttering and fluency studied. Likert scale data revealed that listeners gave lower ratings to samples with increased levels of stuttering. Listener commentaries revealed fewer positive comments with increased levels of stuttering and distinctive preferences between two 0% samples of stuttering where only prosodic features were modified. Additionally, specific perceptions of speaker competency, perceived ease in reading a passage, general comfort listening, and perceived effort in understanding the story appear to affect the global perceptions of a speaker's communication. Implications of these findings are discussed.