Perceptions of Primary School Children (6-13 years) of a Person who Stutters

Margaret M. Leahy and Elaine Hartford

This study investigates the perceptions of Irish children (6-13 years) of a person who stutters (PWS). Having listened to a recording of a PWS and a fluent speaker reading a passage, 80 children completed a questionnaire assigning attributes to the speakers. They also completed an open-ended question with comments about the speakers. There was a significant difference between how the children rated the speakers, with PWS perceived more negatively than the fluent speaker, and increasing negativity found in the older children. There was no gender influence in the findings, and no significant difference found between numbers of children choosing to be friends with any one speaker.