A lifelong journey with stuttering: Experiences of adults who stutter in Türkiye
Journal of Fluency Disorders, vol.88, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 88
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2026.106218
- Journal Name: Journal of Fluency Disorders
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, BIOSIS, CINAHL, Communication Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo
- Keywords: Lived experience, Qualitative research, Speech and language therapy, Stuttering, Türkiye
- Kütahya Health Sciences University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This qualitative phenomenological study explored how adults who stutter in Türkiye experience stuttering across the life course and interpret their therapy experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten adults who stutter and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified: growing up with feelings of conditional acceptance, living under anticipated negative evaluation, and reconstructing agency in therapy. Participants described stuttering as a relational and context-dependent experience shaped by social expectations across childhood and adulthood. Therapy was valued less as a means of eliminating stuttering and more as a space for developing awareness, acceptance, and communicative agency. The findings highlight the importance of therapeutic approaches that attend to emotional, relational, and everyday dimensions of stuttering within the Turkish sociocultural context.