Impact of fluency disorders: A comparison of perceptions of typical speakers and persons with fluency disorders

Stuttering and cluttering are both fluency disorders, albeit having largely opposite characteristics. The common thread however is the contribution of the environment towards the two disorders. Aim: The present study assessed how impact of stuttering and cluttering is perceived by two populations-typical speakers and persons with fluency disorders. Methods: Seventy-six adults responded to each of six pre-recorded speaker stimulus samples (1 male, 1 female with stuttering, cluttering and typical speech) by filling out an impact scale for stuttering and cluttering. The impact scores thus obtained were compared across the disorder of the speaker stimulus, the gender of the speaker stimulus, the disorder of the participants and the gender of the participants. Results: Results revealed that the perception of impact of fluency disorders is not vastly different across typical speakers and persons with fluency disorders. Impact of stuttering is perceived to be much higher than that of cluttering. The stuttering stereotype does exist, though it seems to be magnified by persons with stuttering as compared to typical speakers. For a disorder of the same severity, impact in females is perceived to be lesser than in males. Conclusion: The findings have considerable implications in therapy for fluency disorders, and also indicate an urgent need for educating the general public about cluttering.