How Children Who Stutter Are Socially Accepted

A study done in England had four hundred and three children from 16 different classes in 16 different schools participating in a research study to determine how children who stutter are socially accepted. The age ranged from 8 to 14 years old with the mean being 11 years of age. In each of the 16 classes, only one child stuttered with the rest of the children being non-stutterers. Every student was then interviewed individually and asked to pick 3 children out of the class that were liked most and 3 that were liked least, and then asked to pick 3 students who fit a certain category best. The categories were shy, assertive, co-operative, disruptive, leader, uncertain, bully, and bully victim (Davis, Howell, & Cooke, 2002).

The results concluded that children who stutter have a much lower acceptance and popularity rate than children who do not. It was found that 43.75% of children who stutter were rejected compared to 18.86% of children rejected who do not stutter. Only 6.25% of stutterers were found to be popular compared to 25.84% of non-stutterer popularity. Children who do not stutter were twice as likely to be viewed as leaders. Another significant disparity is that stuttering children were more likely to be categorized as a bully victim (37.5%) and to be viewed as seeking help (25%) compared to peer counterparts (10.6% and 13.18%) (Davis, et al., 2002).

These characteristics would place the majority of stuttering children in the rejected-withdrawn peer acceptance category. This category of individuals is passive, socially awkward, excluded by peers, and are likely to be victims of bullying (Berk, 2012). Instructional Decision. The skill I believe everyone would benefit from developing would be acceptance. In the world we live in today there are far too many forms of hate and ignorance, which serves to nobodies benefit. Acceptance is such an easy skill to obtain, yet so many fight it and will not give it a chance. In terms of business, politics, religion or even just personal feelings, acceptance is a guaranteed winner. Business benefits from acceptance of ideas and strategies, working with others on mergers and forming strength in numbers mentality. Politics would benefit from acceptance by opposing parties willingness to listen and began to come together for one goal: The United States of America. Religion would benefit by accepting that not only yours beliefs are true but others may be as well. No matter what higher power you may believe in, there is a higher power molding and shaping us every day of our lives. Personal feelings could benefit the most, combining the entire prior mentioned: business, politics, and religion. There is a moment in every person’s life that defines what they will be and how they will do in the future. Although most people are unable to pinpoint the exact day and time of this moment, it is usually in early adolescence and involves that person’s peers and developing morals. It is usually caused by the metamorphosis from a completely dependent person to a social being where there is an increased pressure to fit in. The fictitious narrator in Alice Adams” “Truth or Consequences” – itself an excerpt from her book To See You Again – was unique in that she could pinpoint this defining moment. Her experience with Carstairs Jones was a mixed blessing that she was not able to overcome and, in light of how her life turned out, was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Throughout the monologue, the narrator drops hints about how her “normal” past turned out. The many lovers she’d had – three marriages and as many abortions. Each time she was seeking out to gain an upper hand in life and social status. Once, she writes, “I was raped by someone whom I was married”. These are not part of what most people would constitute as a “normal” life. The sublimation of her own values and morals to become part of the “in” crowd at her elementary school started with the malicious game of Truth or Consequences where she was the victim of a trick question designed to humiliate her. Car Jones happened to be the rock adjacent to the hard place she was wedged between. Her ill fate led to the use of Car to prop her into social acceptance and the toll that Car imposed on her for her use of him caused confusion that stayed with her throughout her life. In her own mind, the narrator decides that all of these events can be traced back to the incident with Car and, as indicated by the final line in the story, cause her to be traumatized and allow these things to happen.