Perceptions of and beliefs about stuttering in the Hispanic/Latino community.

PURPOSE: The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate perceptions of people who stutter and beliefs about the causes and cures of stuttering within the Hispanic/Latino community. METHODS: Respondents who were 18 or older and of Hispanic/Latino origin were invited to respond to a 24-question online survey. Questions involved exploring familiarity with and beliefs regarding etiologies, treatment approaches, treatment providers, stereotypes, and perceptions of people who stutter. Data from 151 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Results revealed that the most commonly held beliefs regarding the causes of stuttering were being "born with it", an "emotional disturbance or trauma", a "brain disorder", and/ or a "sensory impairment". The most frequently cited beliefs regarding treating stuttering were "therapy", "rehabilitation", and "tell them to slow down". Over 75 % of respondents believed that "speech therapists" can cure or treat stuttering. Respondents' perceptions of people who stutter are that they are generally "nervous" and "shy". CONCLUSIONS: Common beliefs and perceptions relative to stuttering were identified in the Hispanic/Latino community. The beliefs one holds about the cause of stuttering as well as their negative perceptions of stutterers may contribute to the continued stigmatization of people who stutter. Implications are discussed regarding the need for culturally appropriate education for individuals who stutter, their families, and the general public.

Speech-language pathologists' perceptions of childhood bilingualism.

The value of learning multiple languages has increased in the past 20 years. Despite this, some professionals continue to provide misinformation about bilingualism to many families around the United States, resulting in recommendations of implementing a monolingual approach for children. This study investigated the perceptions held by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding childhood bilingualism. A total of 320 SLPs completed a survey stating their perceptions on childhood bilingualism for typically developing children and children with disabilities. Based on the number of responses, 292 participants were analysed quantitatively utilising a binary logistic regression to identify whether SLPs thought childhood bilingualism was advantageous or neutral, while incorporating the predictors of bilingual status and bilingualism education received. Additionally, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on 173 participants' responses to an open-ended question about their perceptions on childhood bilingualism. Results revealed that SLPs' bilingual status did not predict the probability of an advantageous perception for typically developing children, but it did for children with disabilities; however, SLPs who had received bilingualism education had a higher probability of having advantageous perceptions in both populations. Qualitative results revealed the use of appraisals related to multiple themes. This study served to understand the thoughts of SLPs in relation to the education they are providing to parents and the services they are providing to different populations - whether it be typically developing children or children with disabilities. There are implications for bilingual and cultural-linguistic education to be implemented across graduate programmes to ensure that optimal services are provided to the diverse groups in our case loads.

Development and validation of a paediatric version of the Khalfa Hyperacusis Questionnaire for children with and without autism.

OBJECTIVE: Hyperacusis is reported to occur in 3.2-17.1% of the general paediatric population with higher rates in clinical populations such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although hyperacusis is a relatively common form of decreased sound tolerance (DST), no valid paediatric hyperacusis measures are currently available. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a paediatric version of the Khalfa Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ) as a first step towards filling this measurement gap. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate therapist opinions of the paediatric version (P-HQ) and to field test the P-HQ in parents of children with and without ASD. Total scores were compared between ASD and non-ASD groups. STUDY SAMPLE: Eleven paediatric occupational and speech therapists with expertise in ASD, 64 parents of children with ASD and 37 parents of children without ASD completed online questionnaires. Psychometric analyses were conducted. RESULTS: A unidimensional construct was found underlying P-HQ and all items displayed sufficient theoretical relevance to hyperacusis and adequate psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS: The P-HQ demonstrates good internal consistency and shows promise as a potential screening tool for identifying DST in ASD. Further research is warranted to establish normative data and validate cut-off scores.

Considerations for Addressing the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Speech-Language Pathology Praxis Test Takers.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this article is to explore the speech-language pathology (SLP) Praxis test, a barrier to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) individuals entering the profession, by investigating first-time pass rates and mean scores by test taker race/ethnicity. Other potential barriers to licensure and certification, as well as solutions for mitigating these barriers, will also be addressed. METHOD: SLP Praxis test data from two windows of time, 2008-2011 and 2014-2020, were compared for the following: (a) proportions of test taker race/ethnicity relative to U.S. demographic estimates of racial/ethnic group proportions overall, (b) proportions of racial/ethnic groups, and (c) trends in test-taker mean scores by race/ethnicity. First-attempt pass rates by racial/ethnic groups were also calculated for the 2014-2020 testing window. RESULTS: The percentage of some CLD SLP Praxis test-taker groups increased since the 2008-2011 testing window but is still not representative of U.S. racial/ethnic demographics. The first-attempt pass rates and overall mean scores of CLD test-taker groups remained substantially lower than White non-Hispanic/Latinx test takers. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the encouraging trends in SLP Praxis test-taker racial/ethnic diversity, disparities persist between the racial/ethnic makeup of SLP Praxis test takers and the demographic makeup of the United States. Consequently, these disparities have implications for the continued lack of cultural representativeness seen in our workforce.

Stigma and the Hispanic stuttering experience: A qualitative study.

The stigmatization of stuttering has profound effects on the education, employment, and mental health of people who stutter. While there is a large body of research into the impact of stuttering stigma, few studies have considered the effects of cultural differences. The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of how Hispanic adults who stutter experience stigma. To do so, seven Hispanic/Latino adults who stutter were interviewed using ethnographic interviewing techniques. A thematic analysis of participants' narrative responses gave rise to four major themes: Family, Stigma in Society, Stuttering Experiences in Cultural and Linguistic Contexts, and Stigma's Impact on Identity. Findings indicate that Hispanic adults who stutter experience stigma in unique ways that affect their language use, cultural participation, and identity. An understanding of these cultural and linguistic factors will allow clinicians to develop a more nuanced and effective approach when treating Hispanic adults who stutter.

A Hispanic mother's beliefs about stuttering aetiology: A systemic functional linguistic analysis.

The aim of this study was to identify the linguistic resources a Hispanic mother used to convey her beliefs about the aetiology of her adult son's stuttering. A qualitative research paradigm was adopted for data collection and analysis. An Ecuadorian mother and her adult son who stutters recorded a conversation in Spanish about the son's stuttering. Tools derived from systemic functional linguistic (SFL) theory were used to analyse conversation transcripts and to describe the word choices and sentence structures the mother used to talk about her son's stuttering. The mother deflected community-assigned blame for causing her son's stuttering by configuring her 'strong' temperament as a separate, uncontrollable entity. She structured the pervasiveness of stigma, lack of resources and misinformation within the community as causes for her inability to identify and seek help for her son's stuttering, which also served as a means for deflecting blame. SFL-based analyses were appropriate tools for the investigation of how a Hispanic mother construes her views, attitudes and experiences relative to her son's stuttering. Clinical implications of findings regarding parent education and the utility of SFL-based tools in the speech-language therapy setting are discussed.