Fluency Disorder
Stuttering: Disruption in the ability to produce speech in a smooth, accurate, effortless and timely manner.
Typical stuttering:
- Occurs in children 2-4 years old as their language is developing
- Inconsistent with no particular pattern
- Interjections (“um” “uh”)
- Revisions (“I ate an apple, I mean an orange”)
- hole word or phrase repetitions
Signs/symptomsof a Fluency Disorder include:
- Sound repetitions (“s-s-s-nake”)
- Syllable repetitions (“ca-ca-candy”)
- Prolongation of sound or words (“Daaaaaddy”)
- Blocks, or stopping of airflow
- Tension around the mouth or in the posture.
- Pitch changes, such as sudden loudness.
- Secondary behaviors (foot tapping)
- Avoidance or frustration (e.g. stop talking, unusual pauses, increased interjections (“umm”), or substitutions.
