Fluency Condition Flashcards
These are disruptions to fluency
Dysfluency
What is fluent?
Fluency is entirely dependent on the listener’s perception
“Flows” easily for sound and information
Listener attends to the message and NOT how it is produced
Continual end effortless of movement and information–no disruptions.
Fluency has a _________ and __________ component
Language and speech component
Linguistics: Syntactic, semantics, phonological, pragmatic
Speech: continuity, rate and duration, effort
What is continuity?
Logical sequence of words and syllables, presence/absence of pauses
What is rate?
Most people talk as fast as they can (max and ordinary rate are similar)
There is wide range of acceptable rates
What are the (4) normal fluency pauses?
Conventional pause
Idiosyncratic pause
Unfilled pause
Filled pause
What is a conventional pause?
These are part of a linguistically important event (junctures)–punctuations
What are idiosyncratic pauses?
Hesitation or uncertainty on speaker’s part
What is an unfilled pause?
Silence longer than 250 ms–Normal silent intervals
What is a filled pause?
“Fillers” such as um, er, ah, um
What is normal fluency in terms of effort?
Linguistic planning
Muscle movement
What is effort (linguistic planning)
Effortless speech = little thought + little muscular exertion
“Automaticity” of speech
What is effort (muscle movement)
Little articulatory contact–usually in the OPM may be in the chest/abdomen
There should me minimal effort in the chest/abdomen
Little constriction of airflow
What are the other characteristics of normal fluency?
Natural to listeners
With normal disfluencies
Faster > slower
Less cognitive effort (speaker and listener)
Good or neutral feeling for speakers
Communication focused > paying attention to speaking
What is stuttering?
Wingate (1964)
Involuntary – audible or silent – repetitions or prolongations in the utterance of short speech elements that occur frequently and are not readily controllable
Emotional state ranging from a general condition of excitement or tension to more specific negative emotions
Bloodstein (1987)
stuttering is whatever is perceived as stuttering by a reliable observer who has relatively good agreement with others
Perkins et al (1991), disruptions of speech experienced by the speaker as loss of control
According to DSM V, there are frequent and marked occurrence of one (or more of the following:
Core behaviors
(1) sound and syllable repetitions,
(2) sounds prolongations of consonants as well as vowels;
(3) broken words (e.g., pauses within a word); (
4) audible or silent blocking (filled or unfilled pauses in speech);
(5) circumlocutions (word substitutions to avoid problematic words);
(6) words produced with an excess of physical tension, monosyllabic whole-word repetitions (e.g., I-I-I-I see him)
Secondary
- Causes anxiety about speaking or limitations in effective communication, social participation, or academic or occupational performance–individually or in any combination
Does dysfluency mean stuttering?
No
What are disfluencies? Is an individual diagnosed with stuttering if they have disfluencies?
Typical dysfluency - present for children and adults
Characteristics: Interjections, repetitions, revisions, etc.,
Distinct from stuttering
Both disfluencies and stuttering interrupt communication flow.
Stuttering should not rely only on observable behavior → low reliability
Disfluencies alone is not sufficient for a stuttering diagnosis, because it should involve covert behaviors–feelings and attitudes
What are the typical dysfluency?
Whole word repetitions → monosyllabic and polysyllabic
Multiple word repetition
Phrase repetition
Phrase revision
Filled and unfilled pauses
Typical disfluencies occur frequently at
Pre unfamiliar words
Syntactic boundaries
Complex and longer sentences
What are the primary behaviors of stuttering?
Syllable repetitions - frequency per word would me more than two, frequency for 100 words would be more than two, the tempo is faster than normal, regularity is irregular, airflow is often interrupted, vocal tension is often apparent (monosyllabic words are often repeated for stuttering)
Prolongations - tension → important when present (absent for dysfluency)
Gaps - within the word boundary, this may be present (this is absent for disfluency), prior to speech attempt is unusually long (not marked for dysfluency), and after the disfluency gaps may be present which is absent for dysfluency
What are the ABCs of stuttering?
Affective
Behavior
Cognitive
Note: These are negatively developed thoughts (1) frustration when speaking (2) feeling of muscular tension (3) emotional and cognitive reactions
What are the affective aspects of stuttering?
Occur conjunction with stuttering:
- Fear and anxiety - listener reactions, “poor” communicators
- Guilt and shame - inherently bad, uncontrollable factors
What is the meaning of cognitive aspects of stuttering?
Thoughts or beliefs about stuttering, speaking, and communicating
What is anticipation stuttering?
Anticipation stuttering - person with stuttering can accurately anticipate where they can stutter . 96% of the predictions were followed by stuttering, 94% of stuttering events occurred on anticipated words
Associated with loss of control over speaking and “feeling stuck”
Predicting that a word/sound will be difficult
Pws predict san sila magstutter and most of the time tama sila
What are the cognitive aspects of stuttering?
- Anticipation
- Avoidance - anticipation leads to avoidance (e.g., feared words, feared situations, persons)
- Attitudes about communication - even young children exhibit negative attitudes regarding communication, understands that their speech is different from peers which leads to negative attitudes
What are the secondary behaviors?
Visible reactions accompanying speech interruptions
Function to conceal or avoid stuttering
Attempts to minimize stuttering
Feature in the stuttering severity instrument
Can be any part of the voluntary musculature–may be independent from observable interruptions (eye blinking, etc.,)
Secondary Behaviors (Van Riper)
- Avoidance - feared words are avoided altogether (e.g., word substitution, circumlocutions)
- Postponement - delaying the attempt of feared word which may come by using strategic pauses (Example: “you know” “well”)
- Starting tricks - tricks to make the first sounds easier (“uh”, grimacing)
- Escape behavior - attempt to terminate a block (e.g., head jerk, gasp) interjection
- Anti expectancy - distracting attention from fear, preventing fear
Which of the following best defines fluency in speech?
a. Listener focuses on both the message and how it is produced
b. The ability to produce speech without any pauses
c. The listener attends to the message, not how it is produced
d. The use of fillers like “um” and “ah” is required for fluent speech
Answer: c. The listener attends to the message, not how it is produced
Which of the following pauses is characterized by silence longer than 250 ms and occurs normally during speech?
a. Filled pause
b. Conventional pause
c. Idiosyncratic pause
d. Unfilled pause
Answer: d. Unfilled pause
Stuttering, according to Wingate (1964), can be best described as:
a. Involuntary repetitions or prolongations in speech that are difficult to control
b. A voluntary attempt to avoid specific words
c. The use of speech strategies to ease communication
d. A normal disruption in communication flow
Answer: a. Involuntary repetitions or prolongations in speech that are difficult to control
Rationale: Wingate (1964) describes stuttering as involuntary and uncontrollable disruptions.
Which of the following is NOT considered a primary behavior of stuttering?
a. Syllable repetitions
b. Word substitutions
c. Prolongations
d. Gaps within words
Answer: b. Word substitutions
Rationale: Word substitutions are an avoidance strategy, not a primary behavior of stuttering.
What is the meaning of “automaticity” in normal fluency?
a. Speech requires cognitive effort but minimal muscular effort
b. Speech flows without thought or excessive muscular exertion
c. Speech that requires rehearsing and planning
d. The presence of pauses during speech for clarity
Answer: b. Speech flows without thought or excessive muscular exertion
Rationale: Automaticity in speech refers to the effortless and fluid nature of communication.
Select all the typical disfluencies that occur in both children and adults:
a. Phrase repetition
b. Word substitution
c. Monosyllabic whole-word repetitions
d. Filled pauses like “um” or “uh”
e. Syllable prolongations
Answer: a, c, d
Rationale: Typical disfluencies include phrase repetition, monosyllabic whole-word repetitions, and filled pauses.
The “ABC” model of stuttering refers to:
a. Articulation, Behavior, and Cognitive strategies
b. Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive aspects of stuttering
c. Anticipation, Blocking, and Circumlocutions
d. Auditory, Body language, and Cognitive aspects
Answer: b. Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive aspects of stuttering
Rationale: The ABC model refers to emotional, behavioral, and cognitive components of stuttering.
