The purpose of this study is to suggest the theoretical framework for the speech language pathologist to use in contributing to the intervention of adults who stutter in the clinical field and community by identifying the life experience of adults who stutter.
This study was based on the Grounded Theory method suggested by Strauss & Corbin (2001, 2008) and included 10 adults who stutter. The purpose of the study was explained to and accepted by all participants, Data was collected from February to September 2017 through in-depth interviews and observations. The methods used in this process were the cellular phone and field notes.
The life experience of adults who stutter identified through this study was ‘unconscious occupation of stuttering: yoke’ due to the causal condition of ‘awareness of stuttering’ and ‘object of ridicule’. In the context of ‘tension’, ‘fear’ and ‘withdrawal’, and in the context of ‘preconceived expectations’, ‘passion for accomplishment’ and ‘open mind’, the adults who stutter used strategies of ‘positive advances’, ‘struggle alone’, ‘self?repression’ for core phenomena about life experience of adults who stutter .
Participants were categorized into three types: ‘self-torment type’, ‘adaptive type’, and ‘giving-up type’ according to these actions and interactions.
Through the strategy of ‘Struggle alone’ and ‘self-repression’, the participants of self-torment type were tied to the yoke of the unconscious occupation of stuttering and experienced the self-torment and the helplessness. The adaptive participants experienced a life that accepts stuttering as part of their own, using an open strategy for positive responses about stuttering. Those in the giving-up type group mainly responded to passive stuttering by decreasing the number of words. They became insensitive and accustomed to stuttering, eventually abandoning stuttering.
All participants were found to have undergone stages of occurrence of stuttering, internalization of stuttering and transition of awareness about stuttering. The life experience in adult who stutter was seen as a method of adapting that lived with "unconscious occupation of stuttering: accompanying with yoke".
The intervention of adults who stutter according to the type and process of life experience of the adults who stutter is as follows.
The self-torment type participants tried to overcome the symptoms of stuttering by their own efforts, without seeking expert opinions or searching for speech language therapy. Therefore, speech language pathologists should play a role in recovering trust in speech language therapy. Therefore, speech language pathologist should play a role of recovering trust in speech language therapy by providing positive information about such therapy, giving example of successful cases in the process. In addition, the pathologist should encourage self-help groups that are useful in disclosing stuttering for psychological well-being, and should act as information providers and cognitive change facilitators in clinical practice.
The giving-up type group used their own method to avoid the situation rather than the positive attitude strategy. As a result, the speech language pathologists could provide them with the benefits of aggressive approach to stuttering. They should be able to help the participants to come out of "unconscious occupation of the stuttering; Yoke" through information providers and counselors who can actually be relied upon to help them in their treatment.
The Participants of adaptive type had an open mind about stuttering and used positive strategies. However, due to insufficient information on the treatment of stuttering and stuttering, they used their own method. Speech language pathologists should be experts in providing accurate information and eliminating techniques and methods that do not provide complete treatment.
Based on the results of this study, the following suggestions are made. First, the speech language pathologists treating the adults who stutter should be able to provide stuttering treatment based on a precise understanding of the client''s intervention situation and strategy about the stutter experience.
Second, It is suggested that the development and application of practicable stuttering intervention and counseling program based on the type of life experience of adults who stutter presented in this study.
Third, It is suggested a follow-up study to verify the consistency of the results of this study.