Stuttering
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defined fluency as the aspect of speech production that refers to the continuity, smoothness, rate, and/or effort with which phonologic, lexical, morphologic, and syntactic language units are spoken. Dysfluency, on the other hand, is defined as a break in the continuity of producing phonologic, lexical, morphologic, and/or syntactic language units in oral speech (ASHA, 1999).
What is stuttering? Stuttering varies widely across individuals and is typically a multi-faceted disorder (ASHA, 1995). Stuttering affects the fluency of speech. It is defined as an abnormally high frequency and/or duration of stoppages in the forward flow of speech (Andrews & Harris, 1964; Wingate, 1964). It begins during childhood and, in some cases, may last throughout life. Early childhood stuttering is often episodic at first. However, about one third of the parents of children who stutter suggest the onset was abrupt. The incidence of stuttering is much higher in some families and affects more males than females.
Many young preschoolers who stutter stop within the first two years of onset without receiving any professional help. Approximately 25% will continue to stutter and if the stuttering continues past puberty, it may last throughout their lifetime.
Dysfluencies are disruptions in the production of speech sounds. The individual who stutters often knows exactly what he or she wants to say but is momentarily unable to say it.
Stuttered speech often includes several types of dysfluencies including repetitions of sound, words or parts of words, as well as prolongations of speech sounds. It may also include revisions and interjections such as "uh", "uhm" or "like." These interjections may sometimes be used intentionally to delay starting a word that the stutterer expects to "get stuck on."
Speech may become completely blocked or stopped. Blocked speech is when the mouth is positioned to say a sound, with little or no sound actually happening. The person may or may not complete the word after a block.
Some people who stutter appear to be physically tense or "out of breath" when they are talking. They may have other physical struggles such as eye blinks, tics, tremors of the lips or face, jerking of the head, or fist clenching.
Other characteristics include pitch changes, tension or struggle behaviors, word substitutions and circumlocutions, breathing dysrhythmia, silent pauses or hesitations, poor oral motor coordination, and poor eye contact.
Some examples of stuttering include:
Most often, therapy for people who stutter is "behavioral." For instance, many SLPs teach people who stutter to control and/or monitor their rate at which they speak. When learning to control speech rate, people often begin by practicing smooth, fluent speech at rates that are much slower than typical speech, using short phrases and sentences. Over time, people learn to produce smooth speech at faster rates, in longer sentences, and in more challenging situations until speech sounds both fluent and natural. In addition, SLPs also teach students to start saying words in a slightly slower and less physically tense manner. They may also teach a student to control or to monitor their breathing
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defined fluency as the aspect of speech production that refers to the continuity, smoothness, rate, and/or effort with which phonologic, lexical, morphologic, and syntactic language units are spoken. Dysfluency, on the other hand, is defined as a break in the continuity of producing phonologic, lexical, morphologic, and/or syntactic language units in oral speech (ASHA, 1999).
What is stuttering? Stuttering varies widely across individuals and is typically a multi-faceted disorder (ASHA, 1995). Stuttering affects the fluency of speech. It is defined as an abnormally high frequency and/or duration of stoppages in the forward flow of speech (Andrews & Harris, 1964; Wingate, 1964). It begins during childhood and, in some cases, may last throughout life. Early childhood stuttering is often episodic at first. However, about one third of the parents of children who stutter suggest the onset was abrupt. The incidence of stuttering is much higher in some families and affects more males than females.
Many young preschoolers who stutter stop within the first two years of onset without receiving any professional help. Approximately 25% will continue to stutter and if the stuttering continues past puberty, it may last throughout their lifetime.
Dysfluencies are disruptions in the production of speech sounds. The individual who stutters often knows exactly what he or she wants to say but is momentarily unable to say it.
Stuttered speech often includes several types of dysfluencies including repetitions of sound, words or parts of words, as well as prolongations of speech sounds. It may also include revisions and interjections such as "uh", "uhm" or "like." These interjections may sometimes be used intentionally to delay starting a word that the stutterer expects to "get stuck on."
Speech may become completely blocked or stopped. Blocked speech is when the mouth is positioned to say a sound, with little or no sound actually happening. The person may or may not complete the word after a block.
Some people who stutter appear to be physically tense or "out of breath" when they are talking. They may have other physical struggles such as eye blinks, tics, tremors of the lips or face, jerking of the head, or fist clenching.
Other characteristics include pitch changes, tension or struggle behaviors, word substitutions and circumlocutions, breathing dysrhythmia, silent pauses or hesitations, poor oral motor coordination, and poor eye contact.
Some examples of stuttering include:
- "Wh- Wh- Wh- What are you doing?" (Part-word repetition: This person is having difficulty moving from the "wh" in "what" to the remaining sounds in the word. On the fourth try, they successfully complete the word.)
- "SSSS ave me a seat." (Sound prolongation: This person is having difficulty moving from the "s" in "save" to the remaining sounds in the word. They continued to say the "s" sound until they were able to complete the word.)
- "I'm going to the super- I'm going to the store." (Word revision: This person expects to have difficulty smoothly saying the "m" sound in "market." In response to the anticipated difficulty, they revised their sentence and chose the word "store" instead of "supermarket."
- "I'll see you - uhm uhm, you know, like - later." (A series of interjections: This person expects to have difficulty smoothly joining the word "you" with the word "later." In response to the anticipated difficulty, they produced several interjections until they were able to say the word "around" smoothly.)
Most often, therapy for people who stutter is "behavioral." For instance, many SLPs teach people who stutter to control and/or monitor their rate at which they speak. When learning to control speech rate, people often begin by practicing smooth, fluent speech at rates that are much slower than typical speech, using short phrases and sentences. Over time, people learn to produce smooth speech at faster rates, in longer sentences, and in more challenging situations until speech sounds both fluent and natural. In addition, SLPs also teach students to start saying words in a slightly slower and less physically tense manner. They may also teach a student to control or to monitor their breathing