What is the Stuttering Severity Instrument?
The Stuttering Severity Instrument is a standardized assessment used by speech-language pathologists (known as speech-language therapists in some jurisdictions) to evaluate the severity of a person’s stutter.
The assessment covers the frequency of stuttering in both reading and speech, the duration of moments of stuttering, and the secondary behaviours associated with the stuttering. Each is rated independently of the others on a specified scale, and the total scores are added to achieve an overall severity rating.
The SSI describes clearly the degree to which primary and secondary behaviours of stuttering are present in an individual’s speech. It does not, however, assess how severely an individual is impacted by their stutter. For some, a “moderately-severe” stutter may feel like nothing more than a mild nuisance, or may even be a point of pride. For others, a mild stutter has a profound impact on their daily lives. Additional assessments would be needed to address the impact of a stutter.
Samuel L. Jackson is a Black actor who stutters. He reports that he was able to overcome it through acting.
As airflow is the foundation of speech, when the airflow is obstructed due to tension and uncontrolled closing of oral muscles, the sound produced is compromised.
Craig Skistimas, also known as Stuttering Craig, the co-founder of ScrewAttack which is a production company for video games.
The adored pig from Looney Tunes, Porky Pig, has a stutter. It has been found that he stutters 23% of his spoken words and uses a wide variety of stuttering types.
Stuttering affects around 70 million people worldwide, so yes of course there is going to be a comedian who stutters.
The National Stuttering Association (https://westutter.org/) is a good website to find news about stuttering. The ‘Stuttering Foundation’ is another website that provides the most up to date news (https://www.stutteringhelp.org)
News reporter John Stossel is a news reporter who stuttered. News reporter and journalist Byron Pitts also stutter.
There are two general philosophies of stuttering treatment: Fluency shaping, and Stuttering acceptance
When an individual stutters, the voice may change as there is additional tension on the vocal folds and on the musculature surrounding it.