Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experiences of Stuttering (OASES) now has norms for children aged 7 years to 18 years as well as an adult version.
This tool provides valid and reliable results to help speech-language therapists, psychologists, and other professionals determine what areas of an individual’s life have the most impact on his or her stuttering.
Unlike most other stuttering assessments, which focus primarily on separate components of stuttering and on measuring the frequency and type of stuttering, the OASES measures the entire impact of stuttering on a person’s life.
Built on a solid theoretical foundation, this brief yet comprehensive self-report offers an evidence-based tool to support effective intervention.
Since it is quick and easy to administer, the OASES can therefore be used for initial evaluation, outcome measurement, and progress monitoring.
For use with individuals aged 7 years to to adult, the OASES helps evaluate the speaker’s perceptions about observable stuttering behaviours, the speaker’s reactions to stuttering and the difficulties the speaker may experience in performing daily activities in various life contexts.
The OASES also is one of the first commercially available measures designed to examine functional communication difficulties and quality of life for individuals who stutter.
Using this tool
Whether you administer this tool on paper or on the computer using our Q Local™ software (adult version only), the client completes the questionnaire during a session. Then, you can score by hand or on the computer for adults. Finally, spend some time with your client on the responses and results and use this tool as a guide to plan specific treatment goals and desired outcomes. You also may choose to include family members in this conversation.
Features and benefits
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Enables insight beyond a numerical stuttering severity rating to guide your intervention decisions
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Helps SLTs with less experience in stuttering assessment to better understand the complexity of a stuttering condition and provide more comprehensive assessment and treatment
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Promotes self-awareness for an individual who stutters of how the condition affects different areas of his or her life
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Offers a convenient tool for progress monitoring to evaluate treatment strategies
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The OASES is based on Yaruss and Quesal’s adaptation of the World Health Organisation’s original ICIDH and current ICF frameworks.
Development
The OASES was developed in the US and is criterion-referenced, producing a descriptive Impact Rating. The scores are not age- or ability-based, since stuttering is not an age- or ability-specific communication disorder.
Scoring
Each of 100 questions are scored on a Likert scale from 1-5. Responses are totaled into raw scores by test area (e.g., home or work settings) and then converted to scaled scores (ranged 20-100) which are called “Impact Scores.” Finally, Impact Scores are cross-referenced to Impact Ratings which include: Mild, Mild-to-Moderate, Moderate, Moderate-to-Severe, Severe. Simple tables make this a smooth and easy process.