Preliminary Questions Is my stuttering a direct control issue, i.e. is it an issue involving my own behavior that I can do something about? If so, what can I do about this? Is my stuttering an indirect control issue, i.e. is it…
This is another quick-and-easy self-evaluation form for people who stutter. Whereas the Self-Evaluation Form Fluency (SEFF) is designed to be completed following any speech-related task (perhaps one identified using the Goal Setting Form (Stuttering), this Fluency Self-Evaluation form is designed to be completed at the start and…
Overview Rating method: Self-rated Administration time: Up to 15 minutes Main purpose: Monitoring speech performance of people who stutter Population:…
Overview Rating method: Self-rated or clinician-rated Administration time: Up to 30 minutes Main purpose: Baseline measure of stuttering characteristics against which future performance can be compared…
Speech therapy for stuttering has many options. Which fluency therapy to use depends on the presenting features of the person’s stutter. Assistance and advice on how to stop stuttering is available for any degree of stuttering, no matter what the person’s age. Options reviewed include Syllable Timed Speech, fluency shaping, psychological approach and counseling. People who stutter should always be assessed by a speech therapist.
There are many stuttering problems for people who stutter. People with an established stutter are aware of the negative effect of repetitions, prolongations, hesitations and blocks on their speech. Their stutter (stammer) may be accompanied by facial tics and uncontrolled body movements. Stuttering can lead to the avoidance of certain activities and to social isolation.
Stuttering in children and adult stuttering are both characterized by awareness of negative speech patterns. There is no anxiety associated with primary stuttering. People with a secondary stutter may show some psychological difficulties.
Fluency shaping is a stuttering treatment that aims to replace stuttered speech with fluent speech. Prolonged Speech is a fluency therapy which is particularly useful when overt stuttering features are more significant than any covert stuttering features. A new speech pattern is taught that focuses on slowed speech, easy phrase initiation, soft contacts, breath-stream management, deliberate flow between words and pitch control. Some research suggests that prolonged speech techniques reduce stuttering and that the benefits are maintained over time. Other studies claim that fluency shaping therapies are relapse prone and produce speech that sounds unnatural to the listener and feels unnatural to the speaker.
