The Stuttering Severity …show more content…
Smith was recommended treatment for his stuttering and cluttering, as well as associated behaviors, attitudes, and feelings. Therapy will focus on implementing methods to promote fluency at home, work, and social environments, educating Mr. Smith and his family members about fluency disorders, practicing strategies for fluent speech, and managing moments of disfluencies as they occur. It is important for Mr. Smith to have effective and reliable methods for controlling his speech in order to assist him with avoidance and escape behaviors, as well as negative feelings related to his speech. Mr. Smith’s treatment will focus on decreasing negative feelings and increasing his self-esteem in order to provide him with success in therapy. In addition, ongoing discussion of goals and progress with family members, coworkers, and close friends is also recommended in order to ensure that fluency is supported in multiple environments. Mr. Smith may benefit from joining support groups that have been formed in his community for people with fluency disorders. Participation in a support group may help Mr. Smith express his feelings and exchange experiences with other adults who encounter similar …show more content…
Smith will identify and describe his secondary stuttering characteristics during a 2-minute conversation using objective terms (eye blinking, jaw jerking, and head movement) with 80% accuracy.
• Activity # 1: The clinician and Mr. Smith will video record a previous session that will be used for self-observation. The clinician and Mr. Smith will watch the video together and pause every time that he exhibits any secondary stuttering characteristics. Mr. Smith and the clinician will describe and count his secondary stuttering characteristics.
• Activity #2: The clinician will utilize a mirror to assist Mr. Smith in identifying his secondary characteristics as they are occurring. The clinician and Mr. Smith will be sitting in front of the mirror and he will use a hand gesture to signal the occurrence of a secondary behavior. The clinician will engage Mr. Smith in conversation about his feelings and ask him to describe his physical tension. The clinician will encourage Mr. Smith to describe his stuttering and secondary behaviors in different ways (e.g., feeling stuck, wrestling with