Communicating Their Way: Exploring How Teachers Navigate Stuttering in the Classroom

Tracks
5
Collaboration
Fluency
Inclusive education
Stuttering/fluency
Saturday, June 14, 2025
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM

Overview

Meryl Lefort


Details

⏫ Research insights
⏲️ 10.30am - 10.50am
⌛20-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)


Presenter

Agenda Item Image
Mrs Meryl Lefort

Communicating Their Way: Exploring How Teachers Navigate Stuttering in the Classroom

10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Presentation summary

Background: Stuttering is a multifaceted speech disorder affecting children's social, emotional, and academic development. Teachers play a crucial role in supporting children who stutter, as their understanding and attitudes can create barriers or foster inclusive classrooms. With much of the stuttering literature for this population focusing on clinical interventions and establishing the impact of stuttering, there is limited research investigating teachers' perspectives of stuttering and strategies used in the classroom, particularly in Australia. Aims: This study aims to explore: 1) strategies teachers use or recommend for children who stutter in the classroom, 2) sources from which teachers derive these strategies, and 3) facilitators or barriers to creating a supportive classroom environment for children who stutter. Methods: Primary school teachers with experience working with students who stutter were invited for one-off online interviews lasting 30-60 minutes. At present, 15 teachers have been recruited and nine interviews have been completed with the data analysed. Data collection and analysis will be finalised before the conference. Results: Preliminary findings reveal that teachers generally have positive attitudes towards stuttering and use strategies such as educating peers and allowing extra time for oral tasks. However, they mostly rely on informal sources like Google and social media for guidance, with limited formal training. Misconceptions, such as the "stop and think" approach, persist, and 90% of teachers acknowledged likely having more students who stutter but only identified the "obvious" cases. Although more than three-quarters had access to a speech pathologist, none had consulted them regarding stuttering. Conclusion: Findings underscore the need for improved collaboration between teachers and speech pathologists. While teachers show a positive approach, they rely on non-evidence-based strategies. This highlights the importance of providing more professional guidance and targeted training, which could significantly improve the school experience for students who stutter.

Refrences

Berchiatti, M., Badenes-Ribera, L., Galiana, L., Ferrer, A., & Longobardi, C. (2021). Bullying in students who stutter: The role of the quality of the student–teacher relationship and student’s social status in the peer group. Journal of school violence, 20(1), 17-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2020.1812077.
Boyle, M. P., & Blood, G. W. (2015). Conceptualizations, applications, coping. In K. St. Louis (Ed.), Stuttering meets stereotype, stigma and discrimination: An overview of attitude research (pp. 43–70). West Virginia University.
Cozart, G., & Wilson, L. (2022). Strategies for teachers to support children who stutter: Perspectives of speech-language pathologists. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(1), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_persp-20-00281
Eggers, K., Millard, S., & Kelman, E. (2021). Temperament and the impact of stuttering in children aged 8–14 years. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(2), 417–432. doi:10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00095.
Plexico, L. W., Plumb, A. M., & Beacham, J. (2013). Teacher Knowledge and Perceptions of Stuttering and Bullying in School‐Age Children. Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders, 23(2), 39-53. https://doi.org/10.1044/ffd23.2.39

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Meryl Lefort is a PhD candidate at La Trobe University and a paediatric speech pathologist with experience working in schools and private practice. She has a strong interest in literacy, language development, and stuttering, and is passionate about supporting children to improve their communication skills. Meryl enjoys working closely with families and educators to create practical, evidence-based strategies that help children thrive in everyday settings. Through her research, she hopes to contribute to better understanding and support for children with communication challenges.

The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.

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