ABSTRACT
A review of the literature of the late 1960s and early 1970s reveals a preponderance of research conducted on adults who stutter, with very few studies on children who stutter. In such studies, stuttering was also primarily viewed as a unitary disorder; stutterers were compared to controls who did not stutter. Although the homogeneity of the stuttering population seemed implied, the theories that were prevalent at that time did reflect the possibility of varying etiologies. The main theories of stuttering evolved from work done years before; their themes were developmental (Bloodstein & Gantwerk, 1967; Johnson, 1942; Wischner, 1948), intra and interpersonal (Bender, 1942; Coriat, 1943; Douglass & Quarrington, 1952; Glasner & Vermilyea, 1953; Murphy &Fitzsimons, 1960; Sheehan, 1954), and organic (Bryngelson, 1940; Karlin, 1959; Travis, 1931; Weiss, 1950; West 1958). There was evidence to support each of the theories. However, many questions remained. Among the questions that needed to be answered were: (a) are there differences as well as similarities among people who stutter? (b) does severity distinguish subgroups of people who stutter? (c) does the experience of long-term stuttering contribute to population variability, or does variability in the population contribute to pattens of severity and chronicity? and finally, (d) how adequate or likely is a single causation theory of stuttering?
