Using actors and peers in the clinical education of stuttering: Results from a mixed methods study

Actors have been commonly used in the training of various helping professions [1-4]. Yet, they have not been frequently used in the field of speech-language pathology [5]. Although actors are seldom utilized in the clinical education of speech-language pathology students, the importance of actors in these training programs has been highlighted [6-9]. Some of this research has highlighted the importance of appropriate actor training to assure accuracy in their role portrayal with students [9], as well as assuring appropriate judges to evaluate student abilities when interacting with actors [8]. Many benefits exist when actors are incorporated into clinical training and involve the consistency of the experience and ability to reflect on the interaction in a standardized manner [9]. Gregg [5] provides a review of the benefit of using actors in speech-language pathology and in the clinical training of stuttering. He goes on to highlight the work of Zraick [7,10] with actors and adapting aspects of his outline [10] and use of Objective Structured Clinical Examination’s (OSCE) to fit the purpose for assessing student skills in Purpose: The use of trained actors in the clinical education of helping professionals has been well-documented. However, little is known about the potential benefit of using actors in the clinical education of speech-language pathology students specific to stuttering. This mixed methods study examined the perceptions of 26 participants related to their experiences with peers and two trained actors in a graduate-level fluency disorders course.