A Phonological Study of Stuttering in Autistics: Mousli Society as a Case in Point
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/bsj.Vol21.Iss38.1512Keywords:
stuttering, Autistics, types, variability, disfluencyAbstract
This study investigates the phonological characteristics of stuttering among autistic individuals in Iraq’s Mosuli society, addressing a research gap beyond Western contexts. Employing a qualitative case study approach, participants were asked to read a set of pre-prepared Arabic words while being video-recorded, allowing for detailed phonological analysis. The study aimed to identify types of stuttering—repetitions, prolongations, and blocks—and to determine which Arabic phonemes were most associated with these disfluencies. The results revealed the occurrence of all three stuttering types, with the phonemes /ħ/, /æ/, and /ʊ/ particularly linked to blocks and prolongations. This indicates that specific sounds in the Mosuli dialect may present unique articulatory challenges, reflecting underlying phonological processing difficulties among autistic speakers. The findings are significant in highlighting the influence of dialectal and linguistic factors on stuttering and underscore the need for speech therapy approaches that are culturally and linguistically adapted to Arabic-speaking autistic individuals.
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