Senior Project Advisor

Annmarie Sheahan

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Spring 2021

Keywords

stuttering, disability, person who stutters, literature, children's literature, adolescent literature, developmental stuttering

Abstract

This analysis seeks to explore the way in which characters who stutter are portrayed in children’s and adolescent literature. Using Joan Blaska’s criteria for reviewing depictions of characters with disabilities, I consider eight texts in how affectively they present the disability of stuttering and their main character. The eight texts considered include picture books, graphic novels, and traditional novels all centering on the story of a main character who stutters were considered. Four of these books are designed for ages four to twelve and are analyzed as children’s literature and the other four are written for ages eleven to eighteen and are analyzed as adolescent literature. The authors of these books include career authors, speech pathologists, and people who stutter or previously stuttered. The essay seeks to provide an overview of stuttering and disability representation in literature as well as to identify common themes across texts.

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Stuttering in literature; Stuttering in children; Children's literature--21st century--History and criticism

Genre/Form

literary criticism

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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