Peer Responses to Stuttering in the Preschool Setting

TLDR

The study examined how preschool peers respond to children who stutter and whether particular stuttering features provoke negative reactions. Researchers videotaped four outdoor free‑play sessions with four 3–4‑year‑old stuttering preschoolers, transcribed the play, identified stutters, coded peer responses as negative or neutral/positive, and analyzed stutter duration, complexity, and perceived meaningfulness. Most peer responses (71.4–100%) were neutral/positive, but negative reactions—confusion, interruption, mockery, avoidance, or ignoring—occurred when stutters were meaningless, complex, or longer, and stuttering also disrupted other social interactions such as leading play, pretend play, and conflict resolution.

Abstract

Purpose This study investigated peer responses to preschoolers' stuttering in preschool and sought to determine whether specific characteristics of participants' stuttering patterns elicited negative peer responses. Method Four outdoor free-play sessions of 4 preschoolers age 3–4 years who stutter were videotaped. Stutters were identified on transcripts of the play sessions. Peer responses to stuttered utterances were judged to be negative or neutral/positive. Thereafter, participants' stuttering behaviors, durations of stutters, and judgments of the meaningfulness of peer-directed stuttered utterances were analyzed. Results Between 71.4% and 100% of peer responses were judged to be neutral/positive. In the negative responses across 3 participants, peers were observed to react with confusion or to interrupt, mock, walk away from, or ignore the stuttered utterances. Utterances that elicited negative responses were typically meaningless and contained stutters that were behaviorally complex and/or of longer duration. Other social interaction difficulties also were observed—for example, difficulty leading peers in play, participating in pretend play, and resolving conflicts. Conclusions Results indicate that the majority of peer responses to stuttered utterances were neutral/positive; however, results also indicate that stuttering has the potential to elicit negative peer responses and affect other social interactions in preschool.