THE DEMANDS AND CAPACITIES MODEL-I - THEORETICAL ELABORATIONS

The most recent explanation for the etiology of stuttering has come to be known as the "Demands and Capacities" model. This framework has not been developed byond its basic tenet that fluency breaks down when environmental and/or self-imposed demands exceed the organism's cognitive, linguistic, motoric or emotional capacities for responding. In this article, an effort has been made to: (1) expand upon the model; and (2) demonstrate how, through its use, it is possible to account for the substantial diversity observed in stutterers, both in the experimental laboratory and in the clinic. The companion paper takes the expanded model and shows how it can be used to guide the evaluative, clinical decision-making, and therapeutic processes. © 1990.