Fluency Disorders Lecture Notes

Flashcards about Fluency Disorders

Dysfluencies

Interruptions that prevent the smooth and easy flow of speech, to a degree that distracts the listener from the message and may cause distress in the speaker

Complication in Identifying Fluency Disorders

The identification of fluency disorders is complicated by the fact that nearly all persons are dysfluent in their speech at least some of the time.

Frequency of All Dysfluencies Combined Calculation

Average number of dysfluencies per 100 words or syllables.

Part Word Repetitions

Sound or syllable repetitions (e.g., t-t-t–t-toe, kay-kay-kay-kayak). Whole word repetitions are also included but are not as characteristic of true stuttering.

Prolongations

Sound prolongations like 'My sssssssssister' or sustained sound with articulatory gesture prolonged (+airflow).

Blocks

Silences or silent prolongations with totally absent airflow (e.g., The ………….. cat).

Interjections

Sounds/syllables, words, or phrases (e.g., It was LIKE so cool).

Revisions

Word or phrase revisions, or changing your mind about the word you want to use after already speaking one (e.g., The vegetables were vibrant, COLORFUL).

Part word repetitions and sound prolongations

More common in the speech of people who stutter.

Relationship between duration and frequency of dysfluencies

Inverse relationship.

Loci (where) of stuttering

More in the initial position; more at the beginning of the sentence; more on consonants than vowels; more with longer words than shorter words; more with infrequently used words than those frequently spoke.

Associated Motor Behaviors

Behaviors at one time associated with successful termination of the dysfluency.

Secondary/associated behaviors

Escape behaviors, avoidance behaviors, word and sound avoidance, circumlocution.

Facial characteristics associated with stuttering

Eye blinking, grimacing, tight eye closure, lips pursing or quivering, mouth wide open, mouth opening and closing.

Extremity movement associated with stuttering

Arm swinging, fisting, tapping, stomping, excessive tension a common characteristic.

Breathing abnormalities associated with stuttering

Speaking on inhalation, speaking after air supply has dwindled, mis-timed inhalations.

Emotional Responses/Avoidance Behaviors

Feeling “different”, avoidance of certain words or situations, circumlocution, anticipation/expectancy.

Commonly Avoided Situations by People Who Stutter

Strangers, Formal audiences, Service counters, Telephones, Restaurants, Introductions.

Developmental Stuttering

Onset usually before age 3, no known cause, severity increases over time, content words, oral reading improves with repeated trials, secondaries common, avoidance & anxiety.

Neurogenic Stuttering

Sudden (precipitation event), functor words, no secondaries, no avoidance/anxiety, no change with repeated readings, no change when singing, no change apart from change in underlying disease.

Causality: Predisposing factors

Family history, gender, motor speech coordination.

Causality: Precipitating factors

Adults not attuned to developmental level of child re: vocabulary, sentence complexity, rate (how fast adults speak and wait time for response) increase communicative stress.

Probable Components of Stuttering

Genetic predisposition, Reduced brain asymmetry, Environmental factors trigger and maintain stuttering, Not psychogenic!!!

Assessment after Referral

Case history and interview, Questionnaire, Assessment (Type, Duration, Frequency, Formal assessment, Perceptual ratings).

Measurement of Stuttering

Type, Duration, Frequency.

Formal assessment for stuttering

Stuttering prediction instrument

Perceptual ratings for stuttering

Intelligibility, Naturalness, Overall rate, Regularity of rate, Dysfluencies, Overall articulation accuracy, Pragmatic appropriateness.