Mark IRWIN1*, Gerald MAGUIRE2, and Annie BRADBERRY3
1 International Fluency Association mark.irwin42@gmail.com
2 National Stuttering Association gerald.maguire@medsch.ucr.edu
3 International Stuttering Association annie@100mileclub.com
Abstract: The stuttering disorder has been shown to be associated with the same quality of life impairment as stroke, diabetes and heart disease (Blumgart, Tran, & Craig, 2010) but it receives far less funding and is still poorly understood. Why is this so? What can be done? Thispaper sets out to discuss a possible solution to this situation through a particular consideration of stuttering and mental health. It follows an initiative of the International Fluency Association’s Self Help and Advocacy (SHA) Committee which had agreed in early 2018 to request the stuttering community adopt the concept of Stuttered Speech Syndrome where Social Anxiety Disorder, which is also known to negatively impact quality of life and fluency, interweaves with stuttering. The aim is to provide weight to long-standing research-based recommendations that speech language pathologists routinely screen for Social Anxiety Disorder and, where positive, collaborate with a licensed mental health professional in multi-disciplinary care. The need for this concept has been agreed by the National Stuttering Association and the International Stuttering Association.
*Corresponding author
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