fluency

refers to speech events that contain monosyllabic whole-word repetitions, part-word repetitions, audible sound prolongations, or silent fixations or blockages. These may or may not be accompanied by accessory (secondary) behaviors (i.e. behaviors used to escape and/or avoid these speech events).

a speech disorder characterized by deviations in continuity, smoothness, thythm, and/or effor with which phonological, lexical, morphologic, lexical and/or syntactic units are spoken.

breaks in the continuity of producing phonologic, lexical, morphologic, and/or syntactic units in oral speech. not to be used interchangeably with stuttering.

refer to repetitions, prolongations, and blocks that happen involuntarily in people who stutter (first used by Van Riper)

1. escape behaviors; 2. avoidance behaviors

used during a stuttering episode to attempt to terminate the stutter and complete saying the word. may include eye blinks, head nods, grimaces, etc.

used when the person anticipates stuttering and does a behavior to avoid stuttering. may be the same ones used as escape behaviors. may include other behaviors such as not talking, avoiding "feared" words, etc.

2-5 years

adults stutter more often on
-consonants than vowels
-initial position sounds
-nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs than articles, preps, pronouns, and conjunctions
-longer than shorter words
-words at beginning of sentences than middle/end
-___ unstressed syllable

more frequent on
-pronouns and conjunctions
-whole-word repetitions in sentence initial position
-task of linguistic planning is influential

physical development
social emotional development
speech/language development

parents
speech and language environment
life events

case history of stuttering
development of stuttering
parent interview
classroom observation
interview with the child
speech sample
SSI for adolescents/adults
communication attitudes test

1. normal dysfluency
2 borderline stuttering
3 beginning stuttering
4 intermediate stuttering
5 advanced

has the characteristics of normal dysfluency with the following differences:
1 more than 10 dysfluencies/100 words
2. higher proportion of part-word repetitions, monosyllabic whole word repetitions and prolongations as multisyllabic word repetitions and phrase repetitions
3. more than 2 units per repetition
there are usually no secondary characteristics and borderline stutterers may change back and forth between normal dysfluencies and borderline stuttering

1. frequency of dysfluency
2. number of repetitions or interjections (1-2 is normal)
3 types of dysfluency
no secondary characteristics
-can be caused by learning a new language, increasing rate of speech, life stress

1. more tension and need to hurry up
2. repetitions are more rapid and irregular
3. the end portion of the repetition is abruptly cut off often with a schwa
4 the stuttering is acompanied often by a rise in pitch secondary to laryngeal tension
5. may prolong sounds that have been repeated
6. blocks appear

secondary symptoms appear

1. starting to develop a fear of stuttering
2. reacting to his fear by avoidance

most notable core behaviors are blocks
additional escape behaviors may appear (substitutions, circumlocutions, postponements, anticipatory devices)

characterized more by the age of the person who stutters (14 and above) than changes in core behaviors, secondary characteristics, etc.
-advanced stutterer views himself as a stutterer
blocks may be tense and longer
avoidance behaviors are more extensive

case history
SSI (Stuttering Severity Instrument) used to gather and analyze a speech sample
trial therapy (stuttering modification, fluency shaping)
assess feelings and attitudes (Stutterer's Self-Rating of Reactions to Speech Situations)

case history
-observation
parental interview
interaction with the child
assign level of severity

systematic increasing of stutter-free speech until it replaces moments of stuttering
-fluent response is reinforced and stuttering is punished