ABSTRACTS 209

STUDENTS' ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS ABOUT STUTTERING

R. M. LEES Glasgow, Scotland

T. S T E W A R T Leeds, England

Listeners often have beliefs about stuttering that are not supported by research evidence. The stereotypical person who stutters is often seen as "nervous" and "insecure." If this belief is held by those who will be treating this client group, it could affect the success of intervention. St. Louis and Lass (1981) found that students of speech and language therapy attribute negative personality traits to people who stutter and believe that this is a particularly difficult group to treat. They further found that as the training of students progresses they be- come more pessimistic about their clinical competence with this client group. Speech and language therapy students at different stages of training in two universities in Britain were given a questionnaire about their attitudes to and beliefs about stuttering. The results will be presented and discussed.

Thursday 1015 h-1030 h, Sal B

ONSET OF STUTTERING: CLINICAL AND THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS FROM HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVES

E. YAIRI Champaign, IL, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel

N. A M B R O S E Champaign, IL, USA

Information about the conditions and circumstances surrounding stuttering onset, type of onset, and initial symptomatology provides important clues con- cerning the nature of the disorder and decisions regarding differential diagno- sis and treatment. Geared toward investigators and practicing clinicians, we will address (1) theoretical and clinical significance of onset; (2) past and cur- rent research methods; (3) overall findings of past investigation; (4) traditional Concepts of onset; (5) the influence of findings on theory and clinical ap- proaches, (6) recent findings of the Illinois Studies of the stuttering onset based on 150 children; and (7) conclusions: the changing concept of stuttering