Covert Stuttering

Covert stuttering, depending on the extent to which an individual is covert, is the use of avoidance strategies in attempting to pass as a fluent speaker. For years, covert stuttering has been a commonly encountered term in the self-help world of stuttering before slowly yet surely gaining ground among stuttering researchers. Many researchers of stuttering and Speech–Language pathologists in the field acknowledge the existence of covert stuttering, although minimum peer-reviewed evidence supports the term.

With minimum peer-reviewed evidence, clinicians are ill-equipped with the knowledge required to best understand and, thus, treat someone who enters the therapy room not stuttering yet reports that stuttering is an issue (i.e., covertly stutters). This entry defines covert stuttering and identifies secondary behaviors used to hide it. It also discusses a ...