Clinicians' Knowledge of Speaking Rate and Stuttering: Preliminary Findings

Mark W. Pellowski and Erin S. Jedlanek

Speech rate has long been considered to be an important variable in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals who stutter (Conture, 2001; Gregory, 2003; Guitar, 1998; Zebrowski & Kelly, 2002). A 45-item questionnaire was developed and administered to approximately 50 speech-language pathologists to assess their knowledge of various aspects of speech rate, and how they relate to the assessment and treatment of people who stutter. Findings from this investigation will broaden our understanding of speech language pathologists’ knowledge of speech rate and stuttering, and hopefully aid in developing new and more effective training procedures for clinicians.