Recovery from Stuttering in a Junior and Senior High School Population

Abstract

Recovery from stuttering was studied in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama junior and senior high schools. Of 5054 students interviewed, 119 active stutterers were observed and another 68 students reported recovery from stuttering. This one-third recovery rate for the total population, while contrasting with a four-fifths recovery rate reported in a college student study varied from less than one-third in the junior high group to approximately one-half in the high school population. Familial incidence of stuttering was negatively related to recovery from stuttering. A positive relationship was found between parental identification of stuttering and the stutterer’s receiving speech therapy. No relationships were observed among recovery and stuttering severity, participation in therapy, and the nature of initial disfluencies.