1. Characteristics of Stuttering Educational Impact of Stuttering
October 2017
Amy Jones, M.S. CCC-SLP
Classroom Strategies
for Fluency Disorder
What Should I Do?
Give your student the same opportunities to speak and share his/her thoughts as everyone else.
Be patient. It may take a while, but let your student speak for him/herself.
Try not to fill in words or finish sentences for your student.
Maintain eye contact while your student is speaking.
Let your student know that you are listening by your manner and actions.
Handle any teasing about your student’s speech the same way you would handle any other type of teasing.
Planned Presentations
Discuss oral presentations in advance & come up with a plan to alleviate any communicative pressure felt by the student. For some, it is easier to go first and get it done while others may prefer to go in the middle of the class or last.
One-One Check in
Talk to the child & ask if there are any reasonable accommodations that can be made to help him/her feel less anxiety about participating within the classroom.
Remember…
Expect the same quality and quantity of work.
To convey that you are listening to the content of the message and not how it is being said.
To model that stuttering is not something to be ashamed of. It is simply a different way of talking.
Newsletter Spotlight on …
Fluency Disorders
Stuttering and Cluttering are both types of fluency disorders
Stuttering is characterized by an atypical “interruption in the flow of speaking” effecting continuity, smoothness, rate and effort during expression. This is the most common fluency disorder.
Cluttering has a much lower incidence than stuttering and is described by the perceived rapid or irregular speech rate breaking down clarity. ASHA (n.d.)
Characteristics of Stuttering
We all have natural dysfluencies in our everyday speech, for example, using fillers such as, “uhh” and “umm”. However, stuttering is characterized by atypical interruptions and usually accompanied by secondary behaviors.
Part word repetitions of sounds or syllables (“b-b-b-baby”)
Monosyllabic word repetitions (“A A A car drove by”)
Sound prolongations (“sssssssomething”)
Audible or silent air blocks in speech
Words produced with excessive physical tension or struggle
Individuals who stutter typically display secondary behaviors, or a greater than average physical struggle to get words out. This could take the form of:
Distracting sounds (e.g. throat clearing or unintended sounds)
Facial grimaces
Head movements
Movements of the extremities
Educational Impact of Stuttering
The social/emotional impact of a fluency disorder can be substantial for a child at any age. One of the primary impacts on education is lack of participation during class discussion. Others include:
Sound or word avoidance (those that are known to elicit a stutter)
Speaking avoidance
Potential anxiety or fear of speaking
Frustration or embarrassment with time and effort needed to speak
Insertion of fillers to mask movements of stuttering
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Fluency Disorders in Childhood (Practice Portal). Retrieved March 29, 2016, from
SPHS Rm 916-A (Guidance Office) – (662) ;

2. Who stutters? Where can I learn more? What causes stuttering?
Is there a cure for stuttering?
There is no “cure” or device that will get rid of stuttering. However, speech-language therapy can teach techniques to help make speaking easier for those who stutter.
Are people who stutter less smart than those who don’t stutter?
Of course not! Different people have different abilities, and just because a person has trouble speaking sometimes doesn’t mean that they are less smart than anyone else. In fact, many very intelligent people have dealt with stuttering.
What causes stuttering?
We don’t know for sure, but there are some factors that seem to contribute to it:
Genetics: About 60% of people who stutter also have a relative who stutters.
Childhood Development: Children with other speech/language or developmental disorders are more likely to stutter.
Neurology: It has been found that people who stutter tend to process speech and language in the brain a little differently than those who don’t stutter.
Who stutters?
More than 70 million people worldwide stutter. That is about 1% of Earth’s total population.
About 3 million Americans stutter.
About 5% of all children go through a period of stuttering sometime in childhood.
Stuttering is about 4 times as common in boys than girls.
Some famous people who stutter include Emily Blunt, Joe Biden, James Earl Jones, Darren Sproles, Marilyn Monroe, & King George VI, among many others.
Where can I learn more?
Website
Details
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA – the national organization for SLPs) is a wonderful resource for information about all speech and language disorders and treatment.
Home Speech Home is a website run by two SLPs and contains information about normal speech & language development as well as many different child speech & language disorders.
The Stuttering Foundation has great resources for students, parents, and teachers.
This website contains podcasts by Daniele Rossi. Daniele is from Canada and has written a comic book called Stuttering is Cool in order to encourage others that struggle daily with their stutter.