9-8_Week 3: Questions_Fluency Disorders (No Class Week 2)

READ - Takeaways from the Chapter: Guitar, Chapter 4

T2

Takeaways from the Chapter: Guitar, Chapter 4

1. Research so far has been inconclusive as to why stuttering happens. However, most of the time the onset of stuttering happens when children are developing quickly while in their preschool years.

2. I found it interesting that there are parts of the world that have no reports of stuttering or even a term for stuttering. This may be due to the lack of stress parents put on their child for high achievement. These countries have a more relaxed way to the way they raise their children. We can learn from them, maybe, by putting less stress on our children to push higher and farther.

3. WOW!! I had no clue there was data behind the development of a child only focusing on one ability at a time. I tell parents all the time that worry that their child is forgetting some letter names and sounds as they are learning to read that it is normal for one area to slow down or revert as a new skill is being learned. This was just something I have noticed with my 15 years teaching kindergarten. I no clue there was actual documentation on this.

READ - Takeaways from the Lecture (9-8)

T2

Takeaways from the Lecture (9-8)

1. Oases is a form that is a comprehensive, self-report questionnaire designed to measure the impact of stuttering on a person's life, including their reactions to it and how it affects their daily communication and overall quality of life.

2. Onset for the majority of children who stutter is age 4. So, in my kindergarten class this year, I have a little girl who stutters. She is currently going through the process to get approved for services. Parents didn’t seem concerned, but she shows all the signs of stress.

3. Choral reading is amazing! I know its’ great from a teaching aspect, but I never thought of it from a stuttering aspect.

·      Children are growing and changing so fast. Their bodies usually focus on one thing at a time, like walking or talking. Plus, as they grow, their speech structures change, mouth gets bigger, teeth come in, muscle strength changes, etc. All this factors into a child’s ability to produce speech accurately.

·      The mechanisms of children who stutter are less stable. A study showed that these children even had difficulty clapping to a rhythm. As the children were followed through a few years, the study using acoustic measures showed that the children who continued to stutter had a less mature motor development than those that recovered from stuttering or didn’t stutter in the first place.

·      Some studies have found that the more complex a language is, the more likely a child is to stutter. It has been shown that the more complex sentences produce more stuttering, which helps them in increasing their ability to produce longer complex sentence. However, some studies found that the length of the sentence creates more stuttering than more complex sentences. Another study found that children didn’t start stuttering when they first learned the language, but when they often used a newly mastered construction and sped up the rate at which they produced it.

·      Cognitive development can affect stuttering as well. As a child’s neural development happens, the ability for fluent speech starts to lack. Plus, as a child’s cognitive abilities develop, they become more aware of their stuttering. They may be more embarrassed or ashamed which could make their stuttering worse. Also, when there is a higher demand on their cognition, it seems to make their stuttering worse even if it’s temporary.

·      Social and emotional aspects can play a part in stuttering. They could be more excited or frustrated which can cause stuttering to worsen.

T2

What are the developmental factors in stuttering?

·      The presence of environmental stresses an how stuttering decrease when the stresses are removed.

·      Stuttering also takes place in cultures that are less tolerant of differences and hold to higher standards (US, West Africa, and Japan).

·      Stresses in the child’s home, at school, even on the playground.

·      Parent’s reactions, as well as siblings, grandparents, and others around them, can cause stuttering to worsen as the child may try to avoid the stutter ultimately making it worse. Also, if the parents stutter, they may be pushing their child in hopes to prevent the child from stuttering

·      Research found that the rate of speech around the child can affect the child’s stuttering as the child may try to speak faster like the adults around him or her.

·      Interrupting the child when he or she is talking is another factor of stuttering. The child may try to talk faster to get out what they are saying before the parent speaks.

·      There is mixed views on if the number of questions the child is asked affects stuttering. Some studies show a reduction in the number or questions asked reduces stuttering. While others, are that do not support this assumption.

·      The complexity of language used affect whether the child will recover from stuttering. When the vocabulary is too complex, it is less likely the child will recover.

·      Life evens can cause stuttering to worse as well. For instance, a new baby being born could cause undesired stresses for the child. These stresses could cause stuttering to worsen.

T2

What are the environmental factors in stuttering?