Defining Disfluencies

Question 1

What is the 3 legged stool of Evidence Based Practice?

Answer 1

1. Research (our peer-reviewed literature)
2. Clinical experience (your own data with paperwork to prove it)
3. Client & family values

Question 2

What are the causes of stuttering?

Answer 2

• genetics )men stutter more than women)

- neurology (motor plan execution)

Question 3

What are the two features of stuttering?

Answer 3

CORE/PRIMARY FEATURES
Within-word phenomenon
Stuttering-like behavior

ACCESSORY BEHAVIORS
Secondary
Between-word
Normal disfluencies

Question 4

What are the 5 patterns of Core/Primary disfluency?

Answer 4

Sound repetitions (SR)
Syllable repetitions (SLR)
Prolongations (P)
Block (B)
Broken words (BW)

Question 5

What are the 4 patterns of Normal Disfluencies?

Answer 5

Word repetitions (WR)
Phrase repetitions (PR)
Interjections (I)
Revisions (R)

Question 6

What are the non-observable behaviors of stuttering?

Answer 6

Cognitive/affective - how they think and feel about their stuttering
Avoidance behaviors
They can usually “feel it coming”

Question 7

Describe concomitant behaviors

Answer 7

Distractibility behaviors

ex: speaking with an accent, deliberate movements like blinking

Question 8

Why do concomitant behaviors start?

Answer 8

Distract the speaker and help them (initially) to speak more fluently. These concomitant behaviors stop working over time. You want to drop them in therapy- thus it needs to be a part of assessment and therapy.

Question 9

How is a stuttering assessment carried out?

Answer 9

• based on % of disfluent words
• no standardized tests because stuttering is not reliable
• SSI is a good tool but you don’t get a “score”
• tend to have a primary “type” of stutter
• report their percent disfluent in your observations

Question 10

What should a speech sample include?

Answer 10

• number can be an estimate (pointing to severity)
• 1 stuttered word is counted as a single disfluency
• transcription needs to be done in real time
• how long prolongations/blocks last
• Don’t include normal disfluencies in your total/% but include it in your transcription