Stuttering Assessment & Preliminaries to Treatment

Question 1

A must for evaluating children who stutter is…

Answer 1

parental involvement

Question 2

What are the basics of a stuttering evaluation?

Answer 2

Interviewing.
Measuring observable behaviors.
Conducting other self-report assessments.

Question 3

What should your first session with a PWS entail?

Answer 3

Informative session rather than strictly assigning a
diagnosis.
Ask questions and let the client and family members talk.
Establish understanding of disorder.
Establish why you recommend the techniques that you do.

Question 4

Is stuttering more prevalent in bilingual populations?

Answer 4

There is some evidence of increased risk, but it’s difficult to discern true stuttering from typical dysfluencies.

Question 5

Intra-rater Reliability

Answer 5

judgment by the same person at a later time

Question 6

Inter-rater Reliability

Answer 6

judgment by different person and the two judgments are compared.
80% is suggested as the lower end of agreement percentage.

Question 7

T/F: When doing an initial evaluation or considering progress of treatment, you should only get a speech sample within the speech room?

Answer 7

FALSE! Since stuttering occurrences vary, it’s best to get samples in and out of the speech room.

Question 8

How should you elicit a speech sample from PWS?

Answer 8

In the clinic, get a conversational sample while collecting other information, as well as a reading sample.

Question 9

The SSI score is obtained from the sum of what three variables?

Answer 9

(1) Frequency
(2) Duration
(3) Physical concomitants

Question 10

How is stuttering counted?

Answer 10

Total # of stuttered syllables/Total # of syllables in utterance
“My-my-my-my name is Patrick.” = 1/5

Question 11

Stuttering Severity Ratings

Answer 11

3% - mild
3%-7% - moderate
>7% - severe

Question 12

OASES

Answer 12

Quality of life assessment of how stuttering impacts the PWS’s life

Question 13

PSI

Answer 13

Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory

A guided, self-report by the PWS indicating examples of struggle, avoidance, and expectancy.

Question 14

What are some questions to ask during the initial evaluation?

Answer 14

Any trauma that caused the stuttering? (Physical or emotional)
Any history of stuttering in family?
When did PWS begin stuttering and what has been the course of the fluency?
Is child bothered by stuttering (if adult, their presence likely means yes)?
Does child avoid words?
Any previous treatment?
Does stuttering fluctuate and if so, what seems to cause that fluctuation?
Is family schedule hectic?
Do you observe increases in disfluent speech during rapid growth spurts?

Question 15

Severity Levels

Answer 15

overtly mild and covertly severe
overtly severe and covertly severe
overtly mild and covertly mild
overtly severe and covertly mild

Question 16

How to identify covert behaviors in classroom

Answer 16

Disparity of written and oral performance

A lot of “I don’t know” and “uhs” in responses

Question 17

Primary goals

Answer 17

(1) Decrease overt stuttering

(2) Decrease avoidance behaviors

Question 18

Factors influencing recovery

Answer 18

Decrease in disfluencies in first 12 months of onset.
Female.
No relatives who stutter, or relative who’ve recovered from stuttering.
Good language and articulation skills.
Good nonverbal intelligence scores.
Outgoing, carefree temperament.

Question 19

Phases of Stuttering Modification

Answer 19

1) Reducenegative emotions through objective study of the stuttering,
2) focus on desensitization to the frustration and embarrassment of it,
3) teach the client to self-correct his stuttering after a stutter, then during a stutter, then before the stutter occurs.

Question 20

Testing Reliability - What is likely to vary?

Answer 20

Overt behaviors

Question 21

Testing Reliability - What is unlikely to vary?

Answer 21

Overall impact of stuttering