Speech Fluency and Stuttering Course: Comprehensive Notes

 # Administrative Expectations and Course Policies

• Instructor Names and Recognition: The instructor explicitly states that they frequently struggle with names and will likely forget student names after the course ends on June 10. They prioritize being "better with faces than I am names." This is described as a "running joke" and not a reflection of a lack of care for the students.
• Textbook Policy: A textbook is not required for purchase. Given the course is approximately 8 to 10 days, purchasing a permanent text is discouraged. Students are expected to rely heavily on sufficient note-taking and the provided PowerPoint slides.
• Classroom Etiquette: Students are required to remain focused and avoid non-academic activities (shopping, texting, emailing) during class. Other faculty members have reported such behavior in previous years, which reflects poorly on the program.
• Professional Integrity and Feedback: The instructor emphasizes honesty when providing program feedback to Dr. Manasco. Students are warned that lying about whether specific information was taught (e.g., claiming "they didn't teach us that" when it was covered in PowerPoints) damages their credibility and relationship with the faculty.
• Recording Policy: Recording is strictly prohibited unless an accommodation is in place. Authorized recordings fall under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines: they cannot be shared because they may contain the speech or personal information of other students.
• Academic Integrity and AI Policy: The instructor uses an AI grader. Any paper or discussion post found to contain AI-generated content will result in an automatic deduction of one letter grade per instance. The instructor claims to identify AI usage by recognizing individual writing styles (e.g., student Brooke's specific use of informal "authentic" filler words).

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Students in this accelerated course are expected to achieve the following competencies:

• Description/Explanation: Distinguish normal fluency from atypical fluency.
• Identification: Identify characteristics of different fluency disorders.
• Analysis: Analyze ideological and contributing factors to fluency disorders.
• Formal Assessment: Administer and score standardized fluency assessments.
• Informal Assessment: Conduct and document informal fluency assessments.
• Differentiation: Differentiate between typical disfluencies, borderline stuttering, and stuttering disorders.
• Treatment Planning: Develop individualized, evidence-based treatment plans based on ideology.
• Implementation: Implement fluency shaping, stuttering modification, and integrated approaches.
• Counseling: Apply counseling strategies to support clients and families. This is considered a "big thing" in fluency, particularly for school-age individuals or those with acquired stuttering.
• Data Management: Collect, analyze, and interpret progress data.
• Communication: Communicate fluency assessment findings and treatment recommendations to families.

Grading and Course Requirements

The course follows a point system totaling $500$ points. There are no traditional tests (midterms or finals) due to the accelerated nature of the course; instead, it is writing- and project-heavy.

• Grade Breakdown:     * Blog Journal Project: $100$ points.     * Class Participation: $100$ points (Calculated as $12.5 \text{ points} \times 8 \text{ opportunities}$). This involves the required stuttering activities.     * Reading Quizzes: $85$ points.     * Assignments/Projects: $120$ points.     * Discussion Boards: $80$ points.     * Exit Tickets: $15$ points.

Detailed Assignment Descriptions

• ASHA Portal Assignment: Worth $20$ points. Students must visit the ASHA portal under "Childhood Fluency Disorders," read the relevant information, and write a reaction paper. The paper should be written for a layperson audience and follow APA format (double-spaced, hanging indents).
• Simulated Cases (Simucase): Students will complete two cases (Carly and Jack). One is focused on assessment, the other on intervention. Requirements include an overall score of $90\%$ in each section and meeting the time minimum (e.g., a $60\text{-minute}$ requirement means at least $60$ minutes of work must be shown).
• Speech Fluency Literature Review: A $3 \text{ to } 4$ page paper (excluding references) on a topic related specifically to speech fluency, not reading fluency. Topics might include acquired stuttering, neurogenic stuttering, or childhood stuttering.     * Topic Submission: Due via email by May 22.     * Final Submission: Due by June 5.
• Fluency Assessment and Treatment Project: A group project requiring an audio/video recording. There are no in-person presentations; all materials are submitted online.
• Discussion Boards: One post per day is required. Students must provide one original response and respond to at least two peers. Responses should be substantive and engage in "tough communication" rather than just saying "great job."
• Exit Tickets: Required at the end of every cohort to document learning. The instructor emphasizes that writing "nothing" on an exit ticket is considered unprofessional and disrespectful.

 # Special Project: The Blog/Vlog Journal

• Concept: This is an experiential learning project where students must practice stuttering in real-world environments.
• Video Component: Students must create a daily vlog (using a phone or camera) recording their reactions to stuttering in class and in public. The total video length must be $8 \text{ to } 10$ minutes.
• Public Interaction: At least one video snippet must show the student stuttering while interacting with someone outside of the class (e.g., ordering at a restaurant like Subway, Jersey Mike's, or Buffalo Wild Wings). This interaction should be as natural as possible.
• Journal Content: The vlog should capture the student's feelings, thoughts before/during/after stuttering, and reflections on the experience.
• Written Component: A $1 \text{ to } 2$ page double-spaced summation of what the student learned about the feelings of people who stutter and how their public interaction felt compared to class.

Introduction to Fluency Concepts

• Definition of Stuttering: As of 2024, there is no unanimous or majority agreement on a single definition of stuttering. It remains difficult to explain its exact nature. Definitions should describe the essential nature rather than the theory and be free from opinion.
• Acronyms:     * PWA: Person or People who stutter.     * NFS: Normally fluent speakers (non-stutterers).     * CWS: Children who stutter.     * NFC: Normally fluent children (children who do not stutter).
• Acquired Stuttering: Defined as stuttering that begins after the age of $21$, usually as a result of an accident or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
• The Iron Rule of Diagnosis: If a parent reports that their child is stuttering, the child likely is stuttering. Children are most likely to stutter when they are in their natural, relaxed state; a clinician's presence often disrupts this "natural space."
• Identifying Disfluencies: Common disfluencies include blocks, shallow breathing, and secondary characteristics.     * Secondary Characteristics (Physical Concomitants): Eye blinking, foot tapping, finger tapping, increased neck tension, and lip trembling.     * Types of Stuttering Patterns: Including Initial Sound Repetition (ISR) and Whole Word Repetition (WWR).

Important Dates and Course Schedule

• May 19: Orientation; Chapters 1 and 2 covered.
• May 20: Chapters 3 and 4.
• May 21: Chapters 5 and 6.
• May 22: Literature Review topic due via email.
• May 23: Fluency Assessment and Treatment Project (Group) due.
• May 26: Chapters 7 and 8.
• May 27: Chapters 9 and 10.
• May 28: Chapters 11 and 12.
• June 1: Presentations/Projects due (Note: Syllabus conflict mentioned, but stick to June 1).
• June 5: Literature Review and Fluency Research Project due.
• June 8-9: Chapters 13, 14, and 15; Debriefing.
• June 10: Course officially concludes.

Special Events and Sessions

• Guest Speaker (Friday): A NICU Nurse Practitioner from Vanderbilt will present at $09:00$. The session is virtual, and a Zoom link will be provided.
• Virtual Experience Lunch (May 29): Students will participate in a virtual lunch from $12:00$ to $01:00$. Students must prepare food in three consistencies to empathize with patients on restricted diets:     1. Pureed (or curried)     2. Chopped     3. Regular
• Mindfulness Activity: The instructor introduced a mindfulness technique (closing eyes, imagining a peaceful place, deep breathing) as a valid therapy technique used in fluency treatment to manage serotonin and oxytocin levels.