Examining the understandings of young adult South African men who stutter : the question of disability
Date
2022-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Background: A disability studies approach seeks to understand and address political and social issues that affect disabled individuals. Disability studies scholars employ various models of disability to address and oppose the oppression and discrimination of disabled individuals. A disability studies approach, however, has largely been absent in studies that have investigated the lived experiences of people who stutter.
Aim: To examine the understandings young adult South African men who stutter hold of whether, and in what way, stuttering may be considered to be a disability.
Methods & Procedures: A total of 15 men who stutter, aged 20–39 years, participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and two focus groups discussions were conducted to collect data for the study. The data were analysed according to a phenomenological approach and the affective turn in social research.
Outcomes & Results: The results indicated that some men in this study understood stuttering as a speech disorder that can be controlled, while other men constructed stuttering as a disability, subjectively positioning themselves either as disabled or non-disabled men.
Conclusions & Implications
This article emphasizes the importance of adopting a disability studies approach when examining the lived experiences of people who stutter and enhancing intervention strategies to adequately address the disabled needs of such individuals.
Description
CITATION: Isaacs, D. & Swartz, L. 2022. Examining the understandings of young adult South African men who stutter : the question of disability. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 57(6):1304-1317, doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12755.
The original publication is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The original publication is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Keywords
Citation
Isaacs, D. & Swartz, L. 2022. Examining the understandings of young adult South African men who stutter : the question of disability. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 57(6):1304-1317, doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12755.