What this means
Speech therapists in Iran ranked visible speech behaviors highest, and feelings and daily participation lower. This small early study shows their own views, not what they do in every case.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- 74 speech-language pathologists in Iran
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Stuttering Treatment Priorities and Clinical Challenges Across the Lifespan in Iran: A Mixed-Methods Study of Speech-Language Pathologists.
- Authors
- Rasoli Jokar AH, Khodadad M, Karimi H et al.
- Journal
- American journal of speech-language pathology
- Published
- Oct 13, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42868313 ↗
Abstract
Background
This study provided an initial exploration of Iranian speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') treatment priorities, reported intervention approaches, and perceived clinical challenges for stuttering across the lifespan.
What they did
Seventy-four Iranian SLPs completed a Farsi online survey ranking three treatment aspects aligned with the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-overt stuttering behaviors, reactions to stuttering, and communication participation-across preschool, school-age/adolescent, and adult clients. They also rated intervention use frequency and described clinical challenges. Quantitative data were analyzed using nonparametric tests, qualitative responses were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and exploratory mixed-methods integration linked clinician priority profiles to qualitative themes.
What they found
Across all three age groups, clinicians ranked overt behaviors highest, reactions intermediate, and communication participation lowest. This hierarchy did not shift meaningfully across age groups and was not associated with education or clinical experience. Qualitative themes highlighted pressure for fluency, relapse, acceptance, generalization difficulties, emotional burden, and clinician uncertainty. Exploratory participant-level integration showed that clinicians with stronger fluency-anchored profiles appeared less likely to describe challenges related to relapse, generalization, and pressure for fluency. In this initial sample, clinicians' self-reported priorities remained strongly oriented toward overt speech behaviors despite contemporary multidimensional models of stuttering. Findings should be regarded as exploratory and as a basis for larger replication studies. Findings highlight the need for training and service models that more explicitly integrate participation, counseling-informed support, and stigma-responsive care across the lifespan.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Rasoli Jokar AH, Khodadad M, Karimi H et al. Stuttering Treatment Priorities and Clinical Challenges Across the Lifespan in Iran: A Mixed-Methods Study of Speech-Language Pathologists. American journal of speech-language pathology. 2026. doi:10.1044/2026_AJSLP-26-00262. PMID: 42868313. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42868313/