School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

Title

Perceptions of people who stutter about occupational experiences.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 2012

Abstract

We explored the perceptions about work experiences and discrimination that people who stutter (PWS) report. A total of 184 PWS responded to a paper and pencil or an online version of a questionnaire that included 13 Likert-type scale and demographics questions. Of the respondents, 68 completed a pencil and paper version of the questionnaire and 116 completed an online version. Participants reported that their stuttering affected some aspects of occupational experiences and that their employers had made negative judgments during job interviews and promotional opportunities due to stuttering. Conversely, participants reported that stuttering did not affect whether they were asked to perform supervisory activities, that their coworkers appeared to accept their stuttering, and that stuttering did not affect their choice of careers. Stuttering severity, gender, treatment experiences, type of employment, and differences in salary did not affect participants' reports related to occupational experiences. Finally, there were no differences between the responses provided by participants responding to the paper and pencil or electronic versions of the survey. In this paper, we discuss relationships between these findings and past research studies exploring occupational experiences of people who stutter.