Review by Darrell Dodge

Stuttering and Science, William H. Perkins, Singular Publishing Group, San Diego, 1996 ($29.00 from the publisher at 4284 41st Street, San Diego, CA 92105, 800-521-8545 phone, 619-563-9008 fax)

Review by Darrell Dodge

New books on stuttering are so rare that each one is an event. This one is no exception. William Perkins is Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California. He is not a stutterer, but his book reveals that he has spent a great deal of time trying to feel and think like one.

Perkins' belief is that the reason a cause of (and a reliable cure for) stuttering hasn't been found is that the scientific method has not been used rigorously enough in the search. Whether or not one is convinced of this, Perkins' review of stuttering therapy approaches and their scientific failings, and his discussion of the nature and causes of stuttering provide some rich food for thought. One of his major contributions here is a new point-of-view regarding the method for distinguishing stuttered versus non-stuttered speech, which has bedeviled researchers for some time. He defines stuttering as "the experience of losing control of the speech mechanism," and goes on to place his trust in the stutterer--rather than the non-stuttering observer--to determine when the subject has stuttered. Perhaps just as importantly, he points out that stuttering can only be understood at the level of the individual, rather than in the aggregate. In other words, he suggests that to find a cause (or causes) of stuttering, one must look at individual stutterers first and draw broad conclusions only after many individuals have been studied. This is particularly important for treatment, where the therapist and the client must begin to understand how the stuttering mechanism operates in the individual before there is a real hope of making progress.

To assist in developing new hypotheses with which to challenge current researchers, Perkins places people who stutter into two broad categories, based on his own experience as a therapist for hundreds of stutterers: 1)"transient stutterers" who primarily seem to have trouble initiating syllables, and 2) "chronic stutterers" who experience fluency breakdowns in the middle of syllables.

While Perkins is adept at setting forth the rationale for both genetic and psychological (or environmental) causes of stuttering, his hypotheses come down on the side of those who think that the cause of stuttering is primarily psychological. While I don't particularly buy this [NOTE: I think it's a combination of nature/nurture that can vary from individual to individual], Perkins does provide a good sample of the rationale for this view. It is all the more telling when Perkins provides some anecdotal "evidence" for this view which clearly demonstrates his subjectivity, as when he interprets a talkative stutterer's domination of conversations as proof that his stuttering is a "covert means of being assertive;" which could be a fine case of projection on Perkins' part.

His most controversial hypothesis is that a predisposition to stuttering requires an experience of helpless terror in early childhood related to the sound of one's voice (specifically, being habitually ignored while crying.) This seems to overlook the possibility that a feeling of helplessness could come from the very act of stuttering in early childhood. Not to mention the potential needless pain this theory could cause to parents of people who stutter if it is not true.

Perkins' compassion and respect for people who stutter is evident throughout this book and, together with the air of open inquiry he provides, makes it easier to keep an open mind about even those hypotheses with which one may be somewhat skeptical.

- Darrell Dodge
dmdodge@aol.com