Stammering has a very negative effect on work for a large majority of people who stammer, according to a new US study.

Almost three quarters of people who stammer believe that they have less chance of getting a job or a promotion because of their stammer, according to research published late last year. Seventy percent of people in the survey said they believed that stammering makes it less likely for a person to get a job and more difficult to get a promotion. The research was based on a survey of 232 people in the National Stuttering Association in America.

Half the respondents said they had looked for employment that did not require much speaking. More people were concerned about getting a job (71%) than those concerned about losing it due to stammering (26%).

Job performance was thought to be affected at least some of the time by 69% of respondents, and 46% said they would be better at their job if they did not stammer. One in five said they had turned down a new job or promotion because of their stuttering.

The research also confirmed previous studies which found that women saw their stammer as less of a handicap than men who stammer. In all 17 questions, women said their stammering had less impact on work, compared to the answers by men.

Another important finding was that people from ethnic minorities believe that stammering has a more negative role in the workplace. This finding also confirmed previous studies.

Clinical applications

Social relationships, emotional and physical well-being and occupation could be included as factors in treatment goals and outcome measures. This may allow for better documentation for success. These factors are included in assessment tools being developed by Scott Yaruss to evaluate the impact of stammering on clients' ability to pursue quality of life issues.

Helping clients to look at stereotypes and self-perceptions in therapy can make it easier for them to see the effect of these beliefs.

The impact of stuttering on employment opportunities and job performance, Joseph F. Klein, Stephen B. Hood, Journal of Fluency Disorders, 29, (2004) 255-273
doi:10.1016/j.jfludis.2004.08.001

From the Summer 2005 edition of Speaking Out