School‐Age Differences in Reasonable Accommodations for Students Who Stutter: A Content Analysis of Medical Letters
- 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences Kyushu University Fukuoka Japan
- 2Department of Special Needs Education University of Teacher Education Fukuoka Fukuoka Japan
- 3Faculty of Nursing and Nutrition University of Nagasaki Nagasaki Japan
Abstract
Background: Japanese schools must provide reasonable accommodations for students who stutter, but developmental variations in these needs are poorly understood. This study characterized accommodation requests in clinician‐drafted medical letters to clarify these needs.
Methods: Medical letters for 116 students who stutter (65 elementary, 51 secondary) were retrospectively analyzed. Accommodation content was classified using inductive content analysis. Group proportions were compared, and stuttering frequency (%SS) and social anxiety (LSAS‐CA) were analyzed descriptively.
Results: Five accommodation categories were identified. Elementary students significantly more frequently requested teacher‐mediated protective support, such as reporting teasing and classroom stuttering explanations. Secondary students more frequently requested social functioning accommodations, including subject‐teacher information sharing and entrance examination support. Presentation‐related accommodations were highly prevalent across both groups (61.2% overall). Participants who completed the anxiety assessment exhibited elevated social anxiety (mean LSAS‐CA: 42.1).
Conclusion: Accommodation needs reflect structural school transitions, shifting from classroom protection under the elementary homeroom system to social participation support under the secondary subject‐teacher system. Importantly, presentation‐related needs represent a consistent concern, likely driven by subjective anxiety rather than objective stuttering severity. Medical letters may serve as valuable tools for initiating constructive clinician–family–school dialogue to facilitate tailored support.
Related
- Workplace adjustments equivalent to reasonable accommodations and workplace maladjustment in a general working population, with a focus on high autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits
- Gender and disciplinary differences in grant proposal peer review: Content and sentiment in 39,280 reports
- Determining the cognitive function differences between different types of physically active students : Cross-sectional analysis
- Urban-Rural and Demographic Differences in Substance Use Among High School Students - Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2025.
- Practice report on a credit-based internship for Medical Sciences students: Examining educational effects through fundamental skills for working adults and qualitative content analysis.
BibTeX
@article{kikuchi2026schoolage,
title = {{School‐Age Differences in Reasonable Accommodations for Students Who Stutter: A Content Analysis of Medical Letters}},
author = {Yoshikazu Kikuchi and Yumi Yamaguchi and Masamutsu Kenjo and Eriko Yoshida and Aoi Sato and Takashi Nakagawa},
journal = {Pediatrics International},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/ped.70566},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.70566},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - School‐Age Differences in Reasonable Accommodations for Students Who Stutter: A Content Analysis of Medical Letters
AU - Yoshikazu Kikuchi
AU - Yumi Yamaguchi
AU - Masamutsu Kenjo
AU - Eriko Yoshida
AU - Aoi Sato
AU - Takashi Nakagawa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Pediatrics International
DO - 10.1111/ped.70566
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.70566
AB - Background: Japanese schools must provide reasonable accommodations for students who stutter, but developmental variations in these needs are poorly understood. This study characterized accommodation requests in clinician‐drafted medical letters to clarify these needs. Methods: Medical letters for 116 students who stutter (65 elementary, 51 secondary) were retrospectively analyzed. Accommodation content was classified using inductive content analysis. Group proportions were compared, and stuttering frequency (%SS) and social anxiety (LSAS‐CA) were analyzed descriptively. Results: Five accommodation categories were identified. Elementary students significantly more frequently requested teacher‐mediated protective support, such as reporting teasing and classroom stuttering explanations. Secondary students more frequently requested social functioning accommodations, including subject‐teacher information sharing and entrance examination support. Presentation‐related accommodations were highly prevalent across both groups (61.2% overall). Participants who completed the anxiety assessment exhibited elevated social anxiety (mean LSAS‐CA: 42.1). Conclusion: Accommodation needs reflect structural school transitions, shifting from classroom protection under the elementary homeroom system to social participation support under the secondary subject‐teacher system. Importantly, presentation‐related needs represent a consistent concern, likely driven by subjective anxiety rather than objective stuttering severity. Medical letters may serve as valuable tools for initiating constructive clinician–family–school dialogue to facilitate tailored support.
SN - 1328-8067
SN - 1442-200X
ER -