Awareness of Ableism in the Context of Stuttering Among Speech-Language Pathologists in India

Abstract The purpose of the study was to explore the awareness of ableism in the context of stuttering among speech language pathologists (SLPs) in India. Eighty SLPs were asked to explain the concept of ableism in their own words. Following this, a hypothetical conversational transcript between an SLP and a person who stutters was given to participants along with a response sheet. For each of 20 marked statements in the transcript, the respondents decided whether the statement made by the SLP tended toward being ableist or affirming. Only three SLPs were aware of the term ableism; six SLPs thought they were aware of the term but could not define it correctly. Thirty-two SLPs scored lower than 50% on the second task that involved the classification of statements as relatively more ableist or more affirming. Only one SLP achieved a full score of 20 on the second task. Responses to individual statements revealed insights for future training programs for SLPs on ableism in the context of stuttering. Findings suggest a need to improve SLPs' understanding and implementation of affirming attitudes toward neurodiversity in the management of stuttering.