An investigation of interclinic agreement in the identification of fluent and stuttered syllables

Abstract Experienced clinicians in several treatment centers were provided with audio-recorded speech samples from eight stutterers and two normal speakers. They were asked to 1) count the total number of syllables in each sample, 2) count the number of stuttered syllables in each sample, and 3) rate each speaker on a seven-point stuttering severity scale. There were substantial interclinic discrepancies in all three measures. The implications of these results are discussed, and suggestions to improve interclinic agreement are provided.