Fluency Disorders

A fluency disorder refers to an interruption in the flow of speech when an individual speaking. There are two main classifications of fluency disorders: stuttering and cluttering.

Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder and is characterized by:

• repetitions of sounds, syllables, and monosyllabic words (e.g., “Look at the b-b-baby,” “Let’s go out-out-out”);
• prolongations of consonants when it isn’t for emphasis (e.g., “Ssssssssometimes we stay home”); and
• blocks (i.e., inaudible or silent fixation or inability to initiate sounds).

Stuttering can also co-occur with other disorders like ADHD, autism, intellectual disability, language and learning disability, social anxiety disorder, and speech sound disorders.

Cluttering is characterized by fast and/or irregular speech rate, atypical pauses, pragmatic issues, decreased awareness of fluency problems or moments of disfluency, and excessive disfluencies. Pediatric speech therapy (Speech therapy for kids) addresses stuttering in a positive way!

An individual can be referred to an SLP for fluency assessment when 

• there is a family history of stuttering or cluttering; 
• there is parent/individual concern; 
• the person exhibits negative reactions to their disfluency; 
• or the person is  having difficulty communicating messages efficiently.

Assessment of an individual for fluency disorders will include a thorough case history as suggested etiology for disfluencies are often genetic factors. The assessment will also include an assessment of 

• awareness in young children
• speech fluency 
• the impact of stuttering or cluttering including emotional, cognitive, and attitudinal impact of disfluency.