Fluency

Disorders
DR. MAISA HAJ-TAS
Intended Learning
Outcomes
SLO Course SLOs
1. Demonstrate deep 1. Define fluency
knowledge of the disorders.
basic human 2. Describe the different
communication types of speech
processes, as well as disfluencies
the nature of
speech, language, 3. Recognize the
and hearing. language and
environmental factors
that might play a role
in fluency disorders.
Topic Outline
 Definitions and terms
 Fluency

 Disfluency

 Fluency disorders
 Classification of fluency disorders
 Features of disfluencies
 Core features
 Secondary features
 Negative feelings/attitudes
 Facts about developmental stuttering
What is Fluency?

A perception
of easy,
smooth
speech with
no
interruptions
in the flow of
sounds or
information.
What is Difluency?
Are
Disfluencies
Bad?
What is Stuttering?

Speech
impairments

Fluency Voice Articulation

impairments impairments impairments

Developmental Acquired
Cluttering
stuttering stuttering
The Behaviors that
Compose Stuttering
 Core behaviors
 Stutter-likedisfluencies Physical Con.
 Other disfluencies
Core
 Physical concomitants
Negative feels

 Negative Feelings and

attitudes
 Core Behaviors: Stutter-like
Disfluencies
 Repetitions
 Sound/Syllable
 “Ca ca can she stay?” * Iterations
 “‫”ب ب بدي الطابة الحمرا‬
 Word
 “I I I know”; “She, she asked me to”
 “‫”و و و بعدين طلب مني أحدد موعد للمقابلة‬
 Phrase
 “He was, he was happy”
 “‫ إيش كان في بالعلبة؟‬،‫” إيش كان‬
Stutter-like Disfluencies
(cont.)
 Prolongations (of sounds)
 E.g., “sh----ip”
 l---t’s see”
 “‫بالقاعة‬ ‫ي طالب‬---‫”ف‬
“ “ ‫” ك*ان الولد بيلعب‬
 “B*lue car”
Core Behaviors: Other
Disfluencies
 Revisions
 Sound/syllable

“‫ الولد تعبان‬،‫كان الولت‬

 Word

 ‫ العاب‬3 ‫”“أنا اشتريت لعبتين‬

 Phrase revision
“ ‫ إنت مش فاهم كالمي‬،‫”إنت مش ساهم‬
 Interjections
 “Um”, “uh”, “You know”, ”‫ ”أوكي‬،“7‫ه‬7‫ ”آ‬،“‫عني‬77‫“ي‬
Physical Concomitants
Avoidance behaviors
 things a stutterer would do to keep
from stuttering (e.g., interjections)

Escape behaviors
 things a stutterer would do to get out
of a stuttered word (e.g., eye blinks,
head nods)
Individual Homework
Activity:
 Watch the short video Stuttering for Kids by Kids of
children talking. Answer the following questions
about each of the children:
 1.Provide examples of 3 different stuttering behaviors from
the video.
 2.Provide examples of 2 different physical concomitants from
the video.
 3.What advice would you give a teacher of a child who
stutters about how to interact with that child?
Homework activity details

 You are expected to submit your answers

electronically using the Assignments task on the
course Microsoft Team.
 Assignment deadline: Thursday 21/10/2021 8 p.m
 Assignment is out of 3 grades.
Negative Feelings and
Attitudes
 What is the cause of negative
feelings/attitudes?
 Do all persons who stuttering have
negative feelings/attitudes?
Basic Facts
About
Stuttering
Onset

May occur any time

during childhood.
Most likely to occur
between ages 2 and 5.
Prevalence

“The degree to which

a disorder is
widespread”: how
many people currently
stutter.
Less than 1% in adults
Incidence

 Incidence:
“An index of how many
people have stuttered at
some time in their lives.”
About 5% (only
stuttering that lasted
longer than 6 months)
Gender ratio

Males: Females
At onset: 1:1
At third grade: 3:1
At fifth grade: 5:1
Language Factors and
Stuttering
Stuttering is more observed
on:
 Consonants than vowels
Sounds in word-initial
position than other word
positions
Contextual speech than
isolated words
Language Factors (cont.)

Stuttering is more observed on:

Nouns, verbs, adjectives and
adverbs than articles,
prepositions, pronouns
Longer words
Words at the beginning of
sentences
Stressed syllables
Fluency Inducing
Conditions
Reported by persons who stutter (PWS):
 When:
Speaking alone
Speaking while relaxed
Speaking in unison with another
speaker
Speaking to animals or infants
Singing
While simultaneously writing
Constitutional Factors

 Role of heredity

Stuttering usually runs in

families
Persons who stutter have
more stuttering relatives than
persons who do not stutter
Anticipation, Adaptation, &
Consistency
Anticipation:
 Some words are more difficult than others
(expecting to stutter on those words)
Adaptation:
 Reduction of number of disfluencies with
repeated readings
Consistency:
 Same words stuttered on in repeated
readings of same text
References

 Guitar, B. (2014). Stuttering: An Integrated

Approach (4th Ed.). Baltimore, MD:
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.