Normal Dysfluencies and Dysfluent Speech Patterns

• 1. As children pass through the developmental stages of language learning, they will be more disfluent at certain times than others– developmental periods of dysfuency are a normal

occurrence– normally communicating children hit the peak of

dysfluiecny usually between 2.5-4 years of age– normal dysfluencies characterized by

• repetition of whole words and phrases

• occasional interjections, “uh” “er”

Incipient Dysfluent Behaviors

• 2. Transitional stage most children leave behind– stage of development

• 3. Dysfluencies of incipient stutterers are markedly different for those of normally developing counterparts– Rule of Thumb: the larger the linguistic unit, the less the

concern

•

Incipient Dysfluent Behaviors

4. Characteristics-prolongations longer than-repetitions of syllable and sounds-use of schwa-signs of physical struggle-frequency and duration increases-more than 5% of child’s speech characterized by repetitions of sounds or words AND more than 1% abnormally prolonged,

child has left the boundaries of normal developmental dysfluency

Protocol for Differentiating the Incipient Stutterer

P 26 Culatta and Goildberg

Protocol for Differentiating the Incipient Stutterer

• By Pindzola & White, 1986

• instrument that synthesizes characteristics of incipient stuttering

• places dysfluent behavior on a continuum and evaluates in cumulative impact of 21 possible behaviors in major categories– I. Auditory Behaviors– 2. Visual Evidence– 3. Historical/Psychological Indicators

Wendell Johnson’s View

• Part Word Repetitions

• Whole word repetitions with either audible or visible signs of tensing

• Interjections of Sounds, syllables

• Revisions-Incomplete Phrases

• Dysrhythmic phonations– prolongations– schwa vowel

• Tense pauses

Characteristics needed for a dysfluent speaker to be labeled a stutterer

• 1. Behavior must have a developmental history beginning in childhood

• 2. No identifiable etiological or maintaining factors• 3. Repetition patterns differ from normal speakers• 4. Symptoms can be modified by any number of clinical

manipulations• 5. Allied or ‘secondary characteristics’ are not evident

during fluent periods• 6. Speaker has internalized a belief system concerning

communication acknowledging stuttering and recognizes difficulty of specific communication situations

End of Lecture Notes