Overview of stuttering

Question 0

Define speech fluency.

Answer 0

The effortless flow of speech.

Allows listener to attend to the content of speech rather than the way it is being produced.

Question 1

What is stuttering?

Answer 1

• multidimensional disorder
• breakdown in the interaction of the physical, psychological, linguistic, and psychosocial components of normal speech production
• awareness of stuttering moments/ accompanying feeling of loss of control/ struggle and/or avoidance behaviors/ learned attitudinal and behavioral responses to the underlying neurological disorder
• developed attitudes and behaviors interact with and are influenced by the various environments

Question 2

What are three elements of speech fluency?

Answer 2

Rate, continuity, and effort.

Question 3

Define speech rate.

Answer 3

The speed at which the person is able to make information flow.
- 196 syllables/ minute is average

Question 4

Define continuity.

Answer 4

The smooth movement produced within an utterance.

Question 5

Define effort.

Answer 5

The amount of mental and physical effort used to speak

Dysfluent speech: high cognitive demand to formulate an utterance, tense glottal fry, irregular breathing

Fluent speech: little attention or awareness needed to formulate a response, physical ease of production

Question 6

What do typical disfluencies include?

Answer 6

• repetitions, prolongations, interjections, and revisions
• unusual location and/or increased frequencies of pauses
• atypical rhythmical patterning, intonation, and/or rate

Question 7

What is the prevalence of stuttering?

Answer 7

2.4% of kindergarten era
1% of school kids
Less than 1% of adults
Overall: about 1% of the general population

Question 8

Define incidence.

Answer 8

The rate of occurrence of something.

Question 9

Define prevalence.

Answer 9

Rate of occurrence at this moment/ who has it now

Question 10

What is the incidence of stuttering?

Answer 10

5% of people have stuttered at some point in their life

Of the 5%, 20% of those people continue to stutter as adults

Question 11

What are the gender differences in stuttering? In 2 year olds? In 4 year olds? In older children and adults?

Answer 11

2: 1 males to female before the age of 2
2: 1 males to female below the age of 4
5: 1 males to females as older children or adults

Question 12

What are the genetics statistics of stuttering?

Answer 12

70% of CWS have a relative who stutters
25% generally have a parent who stutters
63% of identical twins share a stutter
19% of fraternal twins share a stutter

Question 13

What are the statistics related to concomitant disorders?

Answer 13

24-45% of CWS have a phonological disorder, CWS with a phonological disorder are less likely to recover from stuttering

Unknown statistics for stuttering and language disorders, but children who recover from stuttering have higher language scores than children who persist in stuttering

Question 14

What are the three components of the Synergistic Approach?

Answer 14

Speech and language
Attitudes and feelings
Environment

Question 15

What are the three main theories of treatment?

Answer 15

Fluency shaping
Stuttering modification
Synergistic Approach

Question 16

Define fluency shaping.

Answer 16

Focuses on speech-language element of stuttering using a structured hierarchy that moves through the physiological systems of normal speech production to achieve fluent speech

Goal: 100% fluency

Question 17

Define stuttering modification.

Answer 17

Focuses on changes in speech, attitudes and feelings, and avoidances related to stuttering
- wants relaxed stuttering and improved sense of self

Question 18

Define Synergistic Approach.

Answer 18

Focused in whole person by integrating fluency shaping and stuttering modification and environmental factors on fluency

Question 20

What are the components of the attitudinal factors of the Synergistic Approach?

Answer 20

Self-esteem, locus of control, and assertiveness

Question 21

What are the components of the environmental factors of the Synergistic Approach?

Answer 21

Communication demands, family composition, classroom/ work dynamics, and cultural factors

Question 22

What factors increase the likelihood of spontaneous recovery from a fluency disorder?

Answer 22

Being young, female, not having a genetic history of stuttering, not having a concomitant/ comorbid phonological disorder, and having higher language skills increase the likelihood of a spontaneous recovery.

Question 23

What are the basic behaviors of stuttering?

Answer 23

Repetitions, prolongations, and blocks

Question 24

At what level do repetitions occur?

Answer 24

At the sound, syllable, word, or phrase level

Question 25

Define prolongations.

Answer 25

Sound or airflow continues, but movement of the articulates stops

Question 26

Define blocks.

Answer 26

Can be respiratory, laryngeal, or articulatory

Question 27

Define secondary behaviors.

Answer 27

They are reactions to the core behaviors, attempts to end stuttering quickly or avoid it all together, begins as a random struggle, but turns into patterns
2 types: escape and avoidance behaviors

Question 28

What is the difference between escape and avoidance behaviors?

Answer 28

It’s an issue of timing:
Escape behaviors are when the person does something during the stuttering moment to try to escape it whereas avoidance behaviors occur prior to the moment of stuttering to prevent the. From happening.

Question 29

What are linguistic factors associated with stuttering?

Answer 29

Longer words more often stuttered on than shorter words
90% of stuttering occurs in initial position of words
High frequency words more often stuttered upon than low frequency words
Adults stutter on more nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
Children stutter more on pronouns, conjunctions, preposition, etc

Question 30

Define anticipation related to stuttering.

Answer 30

Many stutterers can predict which words they will stutter on

Question 31

Define consistency related to stuttering.

Answer 31

When stutterers read a passage several times, they will stutter on the many of the same words each time.

Question 32

Define adaptation related to stuttering.

Answer 32

When a stutter reads a passage several times, they will stutter less often.

Question 33

What are some fluency inducing conditions?

Answer 33

Speaking when alone, to an infant or animal, speaking in unison with someone else, speaking slowly, listening to delayed auditory feedback
(Delayed auditory feedback works for about 6 weeks and then doesn’t)

Question 34

Define emotion.

Answer 34

Subjective measure of probability of survival of the organism in a given situation or in front of a perceived stimulus.

A healthy, balanced emotional life requires an individual to experience a feeling, recognize it, accept, and express it and then let it go.

Question 35

What are the three big emotions for a person who stutters?

Answer 35

Anger, guilt, and shame

Question 39

What are the components of the speech-language factors of the Synergistic Approach?

Answer 39

Physiological, linguistic, and learned behaviors