Societal knowledge of stuttering in Saudi population

Awareness and Knowledge of Stuttering among Malaysian School-Aged Children: An Exploratory Study

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge and awareness of stuttering are closely associated with attitudes toward stuttering. Few studies have been conducted on the knowledge and awareness of school-aged children, and none have been conducted in Malaysia. This study aimed to: (a) determine knowledge and awareness of stuttering among Malaysian school-aged children, and (b) determine whether there are differences between age group, gender, and people who stutter (PWS) exposure groups.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 192 Malay school-aged children (mean age = 9.47, SD = 1.781) recruited via email and social media platforms. They completed a Malay version of the questionnaire devised by van Borsel et al. (1999) on various aspects of stuttering, including prevalence, onset, gender distribution, occurrence in different cultures, cause, treatment, intelligence, and heredity of stuttering. The χ2 test of independence was performed to compare the distributions of survey responses by age group, gender, and PWS exposure group.

RESULTS

Around half of the school-aged children had met a person who stutters, but certain aspects of their knowledge were limited. Knowledge also differed according to age and gender. Girls were more knowledgeable about stuttering than boys. Regarding stuttering treatment, younger children had more positive attitudes than older children. Participants who did not know a PWS were more likely to consult their family doctor rather than a speech-language pathologist in relation to stuttering.

CONCLUSION

Knowledge and awareness of stuttering among Malaysian school-aged children were limited. Findings of this study could be used to develop a stuttering awareness program specific to children to increase their knowledge and awareness about stuttering.

Predictors of public attitudes in Saudi Arabia toward people who stutter

PURPOSE

The Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) was used to measure the attitudes of the general population in Saudi Arabia toward people who stutter (PWS) and to identify the predictors of the overall stuttering score (OSS).

METHOD

A total of 404 adults from Saudi Arabia (16.8% male and 83.2% female) completed an online POSHA-S questionnaire.

RESULTS

The attitudes of adults in Saudi Arabia were similar to those of other samples worldwide. Working status, income, and multilingualism were substantial predictors of the OSS.

CONCLUSION

Saudi adults have positive impressions, beliefs, and self-reactions to PWS. However, their knowledge of stuttering tends to be limited. Therefore, campaigns conducted to raise awareness of stuttering should adopt the most widely used sources of knowledge in the Saudi Arabian community (i.e., the Internet and social media). Sociodemographic variables predictive of positive versus negative OSS include working status and multilingualism. Unpredictive variables, that do not predict positive versus negative OSS, include age, gender, education, parental status, health, abilities, and income.

Dyslexia and Stuttering: An Overview of Processing Deficits and the Relationship Between Them

Stuttering and dyslexia are two processing deficits that have an impact on a person's social and academic lives, especially as they usually affect the pediatric population more than adults. Even though they affect different domains, they have similar characteristics in their pathogenesis, epidemiology, and impact on life. Both disorders represent a considerable percentage of the population worldwide and locally in Saudi Arabia, and they have similar epidemiological trends. Family history, genetic factors, early fetal and neonatal factors, and environmental factors are all identified as risk factors for both conditions. Moreover, it has been established that both diseases share a common genetic and anatomical basis, along with a mutual disruption of diadochokinetic skills. While rehabilitative techniques can be used in both conditions, stuttering could also benefit from pharmacological interventions. This review emphasizes that extensive research should be done to explore both of these conditions as they impact different areas of one's life and the relationship between them to better understand their pathophysiological origins.