THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEURODIVERSITY ATTITUDES AND THE IMPACT OF STUTTERING ON ADULT STUTTERERS

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between adult stutterers’ endorsement of neurodiversity attitudes and the perceived impact of stuttering on daily life. Seven adult stutterers completed the Stuttering and Neurodiversity Attitudes Scale (SNAS), adapted from VanDaalen et al. (2024), and the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering—Adult Research Version (OASES-A-R; Tichenor & Yaruss, 2024). The study hypothesized that greater endorsement of neurodiversity attitudes would be associated with lower reported stuttering impact and that self-identified neurodivergent individuals would show stronger endorsement of neurodiversity attitudes than those who did not identify as neurodivergent. While participants who identified as neurodivergent endorsed stuttering permanence more strongly than non-neurodivergent participants, no significant correlation was found between overall neurodiversity endorsement and OASES impact scores. These findings suggest that neurodiversity-oriented attitudes can be meaningfully measured in adult stutterers and that identity as neurodivergent may influence beliefs about the nature of stuttering. However, in this small sample, endorsement of neurodiversity attitudes alone was not associated with reduced perceived impact of stuttering. The SNAS demonstrates potential as a tool for assessing stuttering-related attitudes and may contribute to future development of neuroaffirming, person-centered stuttering interventions. Further research with larger and more diverse samples is recommended.