Integrating Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive Factors in Stuttering

If one were familiar only with the work of the pioneers in our field, Travis, Johnson, West, and Van Riper, it would seem curious that Walt Manning and I were asked to consider the integration of affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of stuttering — the “ABCs” of stuttering — because in the work of these early writers, the integration would have been assumed from the outset. The apparent split that currently motivates this topic seems to be of recent origin. Although the earlier writers offered very different explanations of the cause and nature of stuttering, they all acknowledged the importance of the ABCs in precipitating and maintaining stuttering, and they incorporated these factors into their programs of therapy.