Introduction to the Issue “Stuttering: Beyond Disfluencies”

Abstract

I am honored to bring together this issue of Topics in Language Disorders focusing on developmental stuttering without specific focus on disfluent speech productions. For decades, much of the research in this field has centered on counting and characterizing observable disfluencies in the speech of people who stutter. We now have a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of stuttering that extends beyond speech productions alone (e.g., Bloodstein et al., 2021). Developmental stuttering arises from complex interactions between a vulnerable speech motor system, where the neural networks that regulate speech motor control produce unstable speech signals, and a set of child factors, including cognitive, language, emotional, and environmental characteristics (Smith & Weber, 2017). Understanding these complex factors, and the interactions between them, is critical for understanding the nature of stuttering. Several of the articles in this issue focus on factors beyond speech production that contribute to stuttering.Along similar lines, for decades, clinicians and researchers have acknowledged that it is critical for stuttering treatment to extend beyond a focus on stuttered events. Despite this knowledge, much of stuttering treatment in practice continues to focus on "reducing the number of disfluencies." Several articles in this issue address why it is critical to focus on other factors in stuttering treatment and provide examples of how to target other communication goals. Together, this set of articles highlights important factors underlying stuttering and positive treatment outcomes for people who stutter, without focusing on speech disfluencies.The author has indicated that she has no financial and no nonfinancial relationships to disclose.

Stuttering: Beyond Disfluencies

“…Finally, Byrd et al (2022) share preliminary results from their communication effectiveness intervention for adults who stutter. In summary, Hampton Wray (2022) and the authors of this issue provide an excellent overview of critical aspects of stuttering, calling for clinicians and researchers to focus their attention beyond disfluencies.…”