fluency

Text Box: What is disfluency?

Text Box: How do I know if a student is disfluent?
All people who speak, are disfluent occasionally, which is normal. When the frequency of disfluencies is great enough to draw attention to the way someone speaks rather than the message spoken, there may be a problem with fluency. Repetitions, prolongations, and blocks are the most common types of disfluencies displayed by students.

Text Box: What causes disfluency?
There is no definitive cause for disfluency. Research has focused on a number of areas including genetics, neurophysiology, environment, and child development. However, current research primarily focuses on neurological involvement.

Text Box: How can I help a student who has a fluency disorder?

• Be patient and attentive. Let the child speak uninterrupted.
• Use eye-contact.
• Speak in a slow, unhurried manner (sometimes referred to as turtle talk with young children).
• Use frequent pauses to slow down the overall pace of the conversation.
• Reduce the number of interruptions when the student is speaking.
• Let the student know you are focusing on the content of the message and not on how he/she is speaking by
    your body language and facial expressions.
• Demand the same amount of work from the student who is disfluent. Treat the student as normally as possible.
When it comes to giving reports or reading orally, provide opportunities unless you feel the student may fail miserably. If needed, have a one-on-one conversation with the student to address possible accommodations.
• Do not finish the student’s words or sentences. Be patient. It’s imperative that the student does not lose
     confidence in the ability to speak.

Sources:

Dell, Carl Jr. (2000). Treating the School-Age Child Who Stutters: A Guide for Clinicians.

Stuttering Foundation of America: Memphis, TN.

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=17

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=10

http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/InfoPWDS

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