St. John's University, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Queens, NY 11439, USA.
J Fluency Disord. 2011 Dec;36(4):290-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2011.06.001. Epub 2011 Jul 7.
Self-help activities for people who stutter (PWS) have been gaining in popularity; however, there is a scarcity of evidence to support their utility in stuttering management. The purpose of this investigation was to understand the lived experience of individuals who attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS from the perspective of a PWS to learn its potential utility in stuttering management. The investigator used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to systematically collect authentic data of this social phenomenon. Twelve participants were recruited from a self-help conference and the self-help community of PWS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted 4-18 months after each participant's last conference. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Themes were explained in investigator narratives and illustrated through participants' quotes. Interpreted themes of the experience of having attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS included: socializing opportunities with other PWS, affiliation, redefining oneself and post-conference disclosures. A conclusion of the study was that the experience of having attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS helped to minimize negative impact that stuttering can have on daily functioning. It appears that self-help conferences were perceived as a safer or "stutter-friendly" environment and promoted social interaction, relationship building, and community building through planned and unplanned activities. Another conclusion was that the experience of having attended self-help conferences for PWS helped participants to communicate more easily. Reported increases in social activity and an "openness" about stuttering, suggest self-help conferences' utility in stuttering management. These findings are supported by other studies about successful stuttering management and self-help activities for PWS. They have helped attendees who stutter to communicate more easily and suggest a reduction in the negative impact that stuttering has on their lives.
The reader will be able to: (1) describe recurring themes associated with the lived experience having attended a self-help conference(s) for people who stutter (PWS) from the perspective of a group of adults who stutter, and (2) describe the potential benefits of attending self-help conferences for PWS in order to make appropriate evidence-based referrals to self-help conferences for PWS.
自我帮助活动对于口吃者（PWS）越来越受欢迎；然而，支持其对口吃管理的效用的证据很少。本研究的目的是从口吃者的角度了解参加口吃者自我帮助会议的个体的生活体验，以了解其对口吃管理的潜在效用。研究人员使用解释现象学分析（IPA）系统地收集了这一社会现象的真实数据。从一个自我帮助会议和口吃者的自我帮助社区中招募了 12 名参与者。在每个参与者最后一次参加会议的 4-18 个月后进行半结构化访谈。对访谈进行了转录和分析。通过口吃者的引语来解释主题，并通过参与者的引语来说明主题。参加口吃者自我帮助会议的体验的解释主题包括：与其他口吃者交流的机会、归属感、重新定义自己和会议后的披露。该研究的结论是，参加口吃者自我帮助会议的体验有助于最大限度地减少口吃对日常功能的负面影响。似乎自我帮助会议被视为一个更安全或“对口吃友好”的环境，并通过计划和非计划活动促进社交互动、关系建立和社区建设。另一个结论是，参加口吃者自我帮助会议的体验有助于参与者更轻松地交流。社交活动的增加和对口吃的“开放”态度表明，自我帮助会议对口吃管理有效用。这些发现得到了其他关于成功的口吃管理和口吃者自我帮助活动的研究的支持。它们帮助口吃者更轻松地交流，并表明自我帮助会议减少了口吃对他们生活的负面影响。
读者将能够：（1）从一群口吃者的角度描述与参加自我帮助会议的生活体验相关的反复出现的主题，以及（2）描述参加自我帮助会议对口吃者的潜在益处，以便对口吃者的自我帮助会议进行适当的基于证据的转介。
