COMD 220-001 Intro to Communic Sci/Disorder - Quiz #4 - Chapter 8

What is stuttering?

Stuttering or stuttered speech involves behaviors including repetitions of sounds, syllables, or one-syllable words, prolongations of sounds, or blocks.

What causes stuttering?

- The cause of stuttering remains elusive

- Causes of stuttering are thought to be multifactorial and include genetic and neurophysiological factors that contribute to its emergence

What is stuttering and/or a fluency disorder?

- Stuttering is an interruption in the flow of speaking due to disfluencies.

- A fluency disorder is an interruption to the flow of speech that can negatively impact an individual’s communication effectiveness, communication efficiency, and willingness to speak.

What is developmental stuttering?

The most common form of stuttering that begins in the preschool years

What are considered “normal disfluencies”?

- Mutisyllabic whole-word repetitions

- Phrase repetition/interjection

- Revisions

What kinds of disfluencies in children indicate a possible problem with stuttering?

- Sound/syllable repetitions (more than two repeats)

- Sound prolongation

- Block

- Monosyllabic whole-word repetitions

‘Secondary behaviors’ in stuttering

Behaviors that occur concomitantly with stuttered disfluencies (e.g., blinking of the eyes, facial grimacing, facial tension, exaggerated movements of the head)

Organic theory

Proposes an actual physical cause for stuttering

Behavioral theory

Assert that stuttering is a learned response to conditions external to the individual

Psychological theory

Contends that stuttering is a neurotic symptom

What does the Demands and Capacity Model assert?

Stuttering develops when the environmental demands placed on a child to produce fluent speech exceed the child’s learned physical and learned capacities

Examples of ways to assess stuttering

- Formal tests (e.g., SPI)

- Informal (e.g., observations, interviews)

Characteristics of direct approaches to stuttering

Focuses on adapting the child’s attitudes and beliefs to improve communication and decrease negative internal reactions

Characteristics of indirect approaches to stuttering

Focuses on counseling families about how to make changes in their own speech and how to make changes in their child’s environment

Fluency shaping

Involves changing the overall speech timing patterns of the individual in an effort to reduce or eliminate stuttering

Stuttering Modification

Involves changing only the stuttering behaviors