Stuttering Awareness Week

Happy Stuttering Awareness Week!

Typical and Atypical Disfluencies

Everyone is disfluent sometimes, but there is a difference between typical and atypical disfluencies. For example, using “um”, revising words of a phrase, or pausing are typical disfluencies. Whole word repetitions, sound / syllable repetitions, or unexpected sounds are atypical disfluencies.

Stuttering Onset and Treatment Strategies

Stuttering usually presents in childhood, before 4-years-old. A child may self-remediate; however, if he stutters for more than three years it is likely he will stutter across his lifetime. Luckily, there is an efficacious treatment model called Lidcombe Program that comes from researchers in Australia. It involves regular sessions with a SLP, one caregiver who provides 10-15 minute sessions of structured prompts and feedback every day, and simple data tracking that’s reviewed to guide treatment. If a family cannot commit to daily training sessions or the kiddo is older than 6-years-old, treatment will likely focus on fluency enhancing techniques and the child’s feelings regarding her stutter.

I love helping children become more fluent!

Due to my own history of stuttering and speech-language intervention in preschool, I have always been fascinated with the disorder. The etiology is unknown, but it is widely believed stuttering has both genetic and environmental factors. I also have always held a unique soft spot for clients who stutter. I easily understand them, relate to them, and fully believe they can talk fluently with the right support.

Recommendations

If you interact with a person who stutters I recommend giving them time to complete their thoughts, don’t attempt to finish their words or sentences.

And if you have a child who stutters and want personalized care from a Lidcombe Trained SLP email me at sara@soundstepsintervention.com .