THE EFFECTS OF SHORT COURSES IN MODIFYING THE ATTITUDES OF ADULT AND ADOLESCENT STUTTERERS TO COMMUNICATION

Two studies examined attitude changes to communication by stutterers d uring short intensive courses. The Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory was used to monitor change. As the experimental hypothesis anticipate d, change was most clearly seen in the avoidance items of the inventor y. In both studies these showed significantly greater positive change than either the struggle or expectancy items. Moreover, positive chang es were only found during the period of the course; no positive change s were found for any scales during the month prior to or after the cou rse. The findings justified the use of short courses to change the att itudes of stutterers and suggested that they may be used in conjunctio n with other approaches which seek to influence fluency directly. An a ttempt to relate the changes in attitude to changes in speech over the short period of the course was unsuccessful.