The impact of stuttering on Portuguese school-age children as measured by the OASES-S

ABSTRACT

Stuttering is a multifaceted disorder that can affect children’s psychological state, academic performance, social relationships, and quality of life. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the impact of stuttering in children, based on their own perspectives and experiences. The purposes of this study were to: (a) investigate the impact of stuttering in Portuguese school-age children and (b) evaluate the reliability and validity of the European Portuguese translation of Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES-S-PT). Participants were 50 Portuguese children who stutter, aged 7–12 years (M = 9.10, SD = 1.7). Overall, participants exhibited a mild to moderate overall impact from stuttering. Results suggest that the OASES-S-PT is a suitable measure for assessing the impact of stuttering on Portuguese children. A comparison of adverse impact with OASES data in other countries highlighted the need to include different cultural perceptions in the research about stuttering experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Stuttering
• school-age children
• OASES-S

Disclosure statement

The 3rd author is co-author of the OASES and co-owner of the publishing company for the OASES (Stuttering Therapy Resources, Inc.) The other authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the FCT [grant number SFRH/BPD/109234/2015].