Intersectionality and stuttering: A sociolinguistic perspective

Introduction: This study sought to counter an ableist (often listeners’) perspective of stuttering through obtaining the perspectives and lived-experiences of a historically underrepresented subgroup of individuals who stutter – Latinos/as/xs/es who stutter. Methods: By means of semi-structured interviews and an online survey, nine Latinos/as/xs/es who stutter provided a sociolinguistic (speakers’) perspective of the experience of stuttering. Participants were queried about their experience of stuttering, whether being Latino/a/x/e intersected with stuttering, and about other stigmatized identities, attributes, and/or life circumstances that imbued their experience of stuttering. A thematic analysis, using a phenomenological approach, was applied to qualitative data. Statistical analyses were performed on quantitative data. Results: Four major themes emerged: (1) Stuttering Does Not Occur in Isolation, (2) At the Crossroads of Stuttering and Bilingualism, (3) Therapeutic Experiences, and (4) Functional and Communicative Barriers. As a social group, i.e. people who stutter, participants identified linguistic and extralinguistic social markers of stuttering. As Latinos/as/xs/es who stutter, a subgroup of people who stutter, some participants reported additional psychosocial implications of the experience of stuttering that were attributed to race/ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, and/or language/s spoken. Conclusions: Findings provide support for the adoption of community-based psychoeducational programs about stuttering, the use of culturally and/or linguistically appropriate measures during assessment and intervention, the inclusion of culture and/or language specific supports for people who stutter, and therapist-client matching to promote a strong therapeutic alliance and improve outcomes of intervention.