Send a text

What happens when authority tells a child their voice is broken? We dive into the chilling story of the “Monster Study,” a 1939 experiment in Davenport, Iowa, where researchers labeled and shamed orphans to test a theory about learned stuttering. No jump scares—just real harm: scripted corrections, public interruptions, and the slow erosion of confidence that led some kids to stop speaking. Decades later, the buried thesis surfaced, survivors spoke up, and a settlement acknowledged what ethics should have prevented from the start.

We trace how the study was structured—four groups split by fluency and feedback—and why its central claim fell apart even as its damage endured. The conversation widens to the power of labels today: ADHD, “slow reader,” “troublemaker,” and how naming differences can either unlock support or cement limits. We share practical, humane ways to give feedback that builds skills without shame, plus a strengths-based look at neurodiversity: channeling intense focus into mastery, using multimodal learning, and reframing “deficits” as different routes to the same destination.

This episode blends true-crime tension with research ethics, speech pathology, and lived experience. Expect frank talk about consent, vulnerable populations, and the thin line between science and harm, alongside hopeful strategies for parents and teachers who want to raise confident communicators. If words can wound, they can also mend—and we can choose which ones we hand to the next generation.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll use this week. Your voice helps others find theirs.

Sources:

Mary Tudor (1939) – Original Thesis

> The full research document from the University of Iowa — where it all began.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.9z9lxfgn

https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/graduate/An-experimental-study-of-the-effect/9983777385602771/filesAndLinks?utm_source=chatgpt.com&index=0

https://cvltnation.com/the-monster-study-how-doctors-tortured-orphans-in-the-name-of-medicine/?

Reynolds G. The Stuttering Doctor’s ‘Monster Study [Internet]. The New York Times; 2003 [cited 2024 Apr 10]. Available from: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/magazine/the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html