Northern Arizona University

SPEECH & LANGUAGE CLINIC
FLUENCY DISORDERS

Fluency disorders are speech disorders characterized by excessive amounts of dysfluencies or excessive duration of dysfluencies or both, and speech that is produced with excessive amounts of struggle and effort. Stuttering is characterized by an abnormally high frequency and/or duration of stoppages in the forward flow of speech.

Prevalence studies indicate that stuttering occurs in approximately 1-1.5% of the population, with males outnumbering females. The onset of stuttering usually occurs between 2 and 5 years of age and may emerge in a sudden or severe manner. Some researchers report that approximately 80% of children who stutter will spontaneously recover by the age of puberty. However, more recent studies suggest that children's rate of recovery without treatment is much lower. Many theories have been proposed regarding the cause of stuttering. It is probable that a combination of factors (i.e., neurological, psychological, social, and linguistic) impact the onset and development of fluency disorders.

Fluency Services at the NAU Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic

The NAU Clinic offers services in evaluation of fluency disorders. The evaluation may include assessment of fluency, rate, respiratory patterns, and primary and secondary dysfluency behaviors. Primary, or core, behaviors may include repetitions of sounds, syllables, or whole words; prolongations of single sounds; or blocks of airflow or voicing during speech. Secondary behaviors develop over time as learned reactions to the core behaviors and are categorized as avoidance behaviors. They may include hesitations, interjections of sounds, syllables, or words; revisions/repetitions of words; or motor movements associated with dysfluencies.

Regardless of theoretical orientation, the ultimate aim of all stuttering therapy programs is spontaneous fluency. Fluency can be described as consisting of four primary components: rate, continuity, rhythm, and effort. Spontaneous fluent speech is smooth, relatively rapid, melodic, and appears free of conscious physical or mental effort. Therapy services are offered for individuals and groups and may include management of breathing and laryngeal tension, training on fluency-enhancing strategies.

Web-links - Fluency Disorders

http://www.stuttersfa.org

http://www.stuttering.com

http://www.stuttering.net

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NAU Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic NAU, Health and Human Services, #66 Flagstaff, Arizona 86011-5045 Clinic: (928) 523-8110 Email: Clinic