The concept of stuttering and the theories behind the origins are of great interest to me. Not only is stuttering one of the most well known speech dysfluencies but also has a personal meaning. When growing up I never had to see a speech pathologist however now that I have grown older I am curious if I have ever had a problem with stuttering. To my knowledge I have never had any trouble although when speaking I find myself getting caught up on word and fumbling around to get stuff out, especially when speaking fast. Upon doing the research for this paper I found that I don’t have a problem with stuttering but I do have a dysfluencies called cluttering. The cluttering is a result from thinking faster then my vocal organ can get out the words. Although cluttering is not the focus

As parents, the child will look to you for guidance and reassurance. They will mimic your behavior without known right from wrong. This is why parents must provide and appropriate speech model for your child. (Ainsworth & Gruss pg.16) Age appropriate vocabulary must be used. Also pauses help to increase fluency. If a sentence tends to very long or complex the child may have trouble understanding and may feel uncertain how to respond. Most important is to give them time and be patient.

As for the clinician the approaches a more direct treatment method is used. Many speech pathologists use a combination of different strategies to produce the best result for the client. Often the strategy that is used is determined by the assessment that is given prior to the treatment. The most important thing to remember is to use what best works for the child. Programmed instruction will work well for the client however many children respond well to more game oriented approaches. For example, token reinforcement, in which the child receives something for producing a good result, can be very helpful. Whatever intervention techniques or combination strategy is used be sure the child is producing results.

A good assessment tool for identifying the problem is to count 10 or more dysfluencies per 100 words spoken. (Peters & Guitar pg.276) A spontaneous speech sample of the clients connected speech is necessary to screen for stuttering.

There are many intervention techniques that can be used for the beginning/young stutterer. The most important aspect of intervention is to determine or assess the child’s severity level. Observing the child’s overall physical characteristics in terms of developing any secondary behaviors will also be helpful for a good prognosis. Some secondary behaviors involve facial grimaces as well as tension around the neck, shoulders. Sometimes young children even begin to clinch their fists out of frustration causing stress throughout their body.

for this paper I can now see how the two dysfluencies can be mixed up.

The final phase is the maintaining improvements. (Peters & Guitar pg.293) The focus of the phase is the fading out of active treatment to a less intense therapy session. Often going from weekly to bi weekly and so on. Also during this stage reevaluations are taken to determine the fluency of the child. If the child seems to be regressing they will need to come back for more treatment.

For many clinicians the direct treatment method approach that is used is divided into four phases. (Peters & Guitar pg.276) The direct treatment method can best be used with the fluency hierarchy. (Peters & Guitar pg.278) The fluency hierarchy entails the child going through stepladder of techniques. The first being single words followed by carrier phrases or words. The next step would be sentences then to two to four sentences. Finally the child will be able to work on full conversations.

Some topics in this essay:
Peters Guitar, Ainsworth Gruss, Harryman Kresheck, , peters guitar, ainsworth gruss, intervention techniques, peters guitar pg276, child ainsworth gruss, direct treatment method, child ainsworth, stuttering behavior, direct treatment, guitar pg276, treatment method, child begin, throughout paper, stuttering peters guitar, intervention techniques help,