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From: Walt Manning
Date: 06 Oct 2008
Time: 09:55:36 -0500
Remote Name: 141.225.97.59
Vincent, Those who stutter certainly appear more nervous than those who don't. Without going into the details (I'll send some references if you'd like) several have suggested and some have found evidence to support the idea that because PWS sometimes do what fluent speakers do when they are nervous the common perception is that PWS are nervous. As it turns out, PWS do not typically have more trait anxiety than those who do not stutter. It's also good to keep in mind that - as I heard Glyn Riley point out at a conference a few years ago - nearly all measures of social anxiety include a large majority of items about speaking with others. So it's not surprising that PWS often show higher anxiety scores on such scales. It seems to me it would be a lot like taking someone who couldn't swim out to the middle of a lake and asking them how the feel about being thrown overboard. There's a good chance the person would indicate some anxiety. It's perfectly normal to show anxiety about attempting things you aren't very good at doing. As another person has already pointed out on this theme,people who do not stutter are also afraid of many speaking situations. I'll never forget my surprise during high school when this big tough football player who sat across from me expressed his fear about giving a book report in class. Since he didn't stutter like I did I had a difficult time understanding why he was afraid. It's normal.