Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND ... copes with stammering (Plexico, Manning and Levitt, 2009) and patterns of ...
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ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 193 (2015) 306 – 307
10th Oxford Dysfluency Conference, ODC 2014, 17 - 20 July, 2014, Oxford, United Kingdom
A qualitative evaluation of participants experience of stammering awareness training J.L. Holmesa & J. Welbyb a
The Stammering Support Centre Leeds, UK b The University of Bradford, UK
Abstract
Narratives by people who stammer are often ones of difficulty in social situations and experience of negative reactions (Crichton-Smith 2002) these responses can have a significant impact on how an individual responds to and copes with stammering (Plexico, Manning and Levitt, 2009) and patterns of avoidance can emerge which lead to lack of access to services. Research has shown that the general public do hold negative attitudes and stereotypes of people who stammer (Boyle, Blood and Blood, 2009; MacKinnon, Hall and MacInttyre, 2007) Many of these studies have used a quantitative questionnaire method. Few (Hughes, Gabel, Irani and Schlagheck, 2010) have used qualitative methods to further explore this Furthermore there have been a very few studies (Flynn and St Louis, 2011; Hughes, Gabel, Roseman and Daniels, 2013) to investigate if attitude can be changed by awareness raising activities. This presentation reports some of the key themes emerging from a qualitative investigation of the experience of front of house staff in the National Health Service(NHS) who have attended an awareness raising session delivered by adults who stammer (AWS) and an speech and language therapist (SLT). The method was a qualitative approach. Phenomenology was the guiding approach and data collected in focus groups. Each focus group was conducted by the first author. The first focus group was observed by a Highly Specialist SLT with experience in qualitative researching. The subsequent two focus groups were observed by an SLT who was given training. Transcripts of each group were made and analysed by the first author using a descriptive phenomenological approach (Finlay, 2011). Reflexive research practice was maintained throughout the process through reflective discussion with the group observers and note and diary keeping throughout analysis. Participants identified that the course had increased their awareness of how to support people who stammer and changed their approach when dealing with them face to face. They described understanding that things they thought were helpful (such as finishing sentences) were not and that they were more patient. Involvement of people who stammer in the training was seen as a key factor for them in affecting this change as this allowed for open discussion about and observation of stammering. Participants still reported that situations where they were on the phone or where they were under time pressure were situations when they were less confident in being able to support people who stammer in the way they would like to. Interaction with AWS resulted in reports of both attitude and behaviour change. Of all the
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ODC 2014. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.03.284
J.L. Holmes and J. Welby / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 193 (2015) 306 – 307
aspects of the awareness raising session interaction with people who stammer was seen as the most important and this suggests that AWS or children who stammer should always be involved in awareness rising. Participants’ reports of situations which they find more difficult mirror those often reported by AWS (Crichton-Smith, 2002). This small scale study is limited in its generalisability, nevertheless this qualitative method has allowed for in depth understanding of the factors affecting reported change in this group. Keywords: Stammering awareness; Participation of people who Stammer; Qualitative; Focus group;
References Boyle, M.P. Blood, G.W. and Blood, I.M.(2009) Effects of perceived causality on perceptions of persons who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 34 (2009) pp.201-218. Crichton-Smith, I. (2002) Communicating in the Real World: Accounts from People who Stammer. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 27 (4) pp. 333352. Finlay, L. (2011) Phenomonology for Therapists: Researching the Lived World. Wiley Blackwell: Chichester. Flynn, T and St Louis, K. (2011) Changing adolescent attitudes toward stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 36 (2011) pp110-121 Hughes, S. Gabel, R. Irani, F. and Schlagheck (2010) University students’ explanations for their descriptisons of people who stutter: An exploratory mixed model study. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 35 (2010) pp. 280-298. Hughes, S. Gabel, R. Roseman, C. and Daniels, D. (2013) An interdisciplinary training programme in stuttering: raising awareness and changing attitudes. Paper presented at Stuttering Attitudes Research Symposium September 4-7, 2013 [online] http://www.stutteringattitudes.com/events.html Accessed 29th September 2013. MacKinnon, S.P, Hall, S. MacIntyre, P.D.(2007) Origins of the Stuttering Stereotype: Stereotype formation through anchoring-adjustment. Journal fo Fluency Disorders. 32 (2007)pp. 297-309 Plexico, L. Manning, W.H. and Levitt, H. (2009) Coping responses by adults who stutter: Part 1. Protecting the self and others. Journal of Fluency Disorders 34 (2009) pp 87-107
© Published by by Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ©2015 2015The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ODC 2014. Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ODC 2014.
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