Focus areas
Creating flow: Strategies for Dealing with Persistent Stuttering from the Perspective of Creativity Theory
How do people deal with obvious limitations in their ability to express themselves verbally, given the essential social importance of “talking with one another”? How do they signal to their communication partners that, although they speak with a stutter, they are perfectly capable of thinking and acting fluently? What individual strategies do they employ, and what role do conventions, contexts, and communication partners play in this?
Our project follows an inclusive, multi-method approach. We begin “bottom-up,” starting with focus group interviews with adults who stutter persistently. When are practiced speech techniques used, and in which situations do other, innovative forms of communication come into play? Is there always a plan, or is there also room for improvisation? The interview transcripts will be analyzed using approaches based on creativity and acceptance theory and will form the basis for a larger survey using standardized instruments, as well as for future experimental studies.