Communication Disorders:
STUTTERING
Rebecca Forbes
TLSE 457
Summer 2004
What is stuttering?
 Speech impairment characterized by
• abnormal hesitations
• repetitions, blocks, and/or prolongations of
sounds, words, or syllables
• avoidance or substitution of words
– example: “closet” stutterers
Specific Characteristics
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Repetitions
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Avoidance of talking
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Fear & Embarrassment
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Irregular breathing
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Related behaviors
Blocks
Prolongations
Tremors
Pitch & loudness rise
• foot tapping, eye blinks,
head turns
What causes stuttering?
 No known cause, only controversy
 Theories
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Genetic disposition
Biological explanation
Family Factors
Psychological factors
– ex: conditioning
Prevalence/Incidence Rates
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Most frequent type of fluency disorder
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About 1% of the population stutters
(2-3 million people)
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More boys than girls stutter (4:1 ratio)
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Average person: 7-10% of speech is disfluent
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>10% disfluency leads to stuttering
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50-70% of people who stutter have at least one
relative who also stutters
Assessment/Diagnoses
 Speech and language pathologists
• read out loud
• pronounce specific words
• talk (time wpm)
• hearing tests
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Tests determine whether or not a person
needs speech therapy
ex: NIU Speech Clinic
What can teachers do?
Instructional Ideas
 talking slowly & clearly
 answer ?’s after a pause
 stay calm, don’t be bothered (patience!)
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give reassurance & encourage talking about
his or her stuttering
 create a plan for class participation
 allow increased response time
VIDEO CLIP
Technology and Stuttering
 Feedback machine monitors speech
(Delayed Auditory Feedback)
 Classroom PowerPoint Presentations
• educates peers while decreasing teasing
• helps overcome the fear of speaking
Interesting Facts about
Stuttering
 Stuttering occurs most often in left-handers
 No stuttering when singing, speaking in
unison, or whispering
 Famous people that stutter
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George Burns
Thomas Edison
Charles Darwin
Albert Einstein
George Washington
Bruce Willis
Marilyn Monroe
References for Stuttering
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Resources used in this presentation
• http://www.stuttering.net/stuttering-facts.html
• http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfrwq/whatisstut.html
• http://asha.org/speech/disabilities/stuttering.cfm
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Resources for school personnel
• http://nsastutter.org/content/index.php?catid=8
• Video => Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teachers
• The Stuttering Foundation, 2002
• Book => Stuttering and Your Child: ?’s and answers
• Book => Understanding Stuttering by: Nathan Lavid
• Book => Tangled Tongue: Living with a Stutter
by: Jock A. Carlisle