Understanding the complexity of stuttering experience through a self-identitylens

This paper explains the complexity of personal experience of stuttering using self-identity as a lens. It draws on a narrative life history study of five male and two female adults with developmental stuttering. Their experiences of stuttering were subjected to a narrative, interpretive analysis. Two primary self-identity trajectories viz. DisOther and Able were identified in relation to their experience of stuttering. The complexity of the stuttering experience was revealed through understanding: i. variegated presentations and relationships between self-identity trajectories as Able and DisOther ii. the critical catalytic junctures and dynamic nature of self-identity formations over their life-courses iii. the influence of social contexts in shaping experience The clinical relevance of using self-identity as a meaningful unit of analysis in clinical practice is considered.