The Nature Of Speech Disfluencies

The purpose of this case study is to offer my own knowledge regarding the nature of speech disfluencies as well as to discuss the many resources, which may be of benefit to my cousin who is concerned about her daughter who is presenting with speech disfluencies. It is important to mention to my cousin that given my own limitations as a student, I am not able to comment on the severity or benefit of therapy her daughter may experience. I am able to provide some basic information regarding speech disfluencies, therapy options as well a personal story related to the disorder. Given this, it is my strong suggestion that my cousin also reach out to a professional to gain their opinion on the matter. Specifically, I would recommend she speak with a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Given the concern my cousin has exhibited regarding her daughter’s speech, it may be beneficial to begin our conversation by discussing disordered disfluent speech in general as well as the specific characteristics which separate it from normal disfluencies. As my cousin is only 3 years old, she may be experiencing what is known as developmental stuttering in which the associated disfluencies or “stuttering” behaviors occur on content words alone as well as on the initial syllables of words (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015).

These atypical behaviors are contrasted with normal disfluencies which include whole-word repetitions, interjections, syllable repetitions, and phrase revisions, which are not indicative of a possible speech impediment (McAleer-Hamaguchi, 2017 ; Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015). Given the multitude of factors to consider, my advice to my cousin is to pay attention to the words, word-positions and phrases her daughter struggles with and to see if they meet any of the criteria listed above. In addition, it may be beneficial to ask other family members as well as her daughter’s preschool teacher or babysitter for their thoughts and observations on the matter. This will allow a much broader and more representative picture of her daughter’s speech ability and it will ensure a more accurate picture of the situation as a whole.

To ease my cousin’s anxiety, I would also mention that even if her daughter is presenting characteristics in line with developmental stuttering, in 65 to 75% of cases, children will recover within the first 2 years after its onset and 85% recover in the few years following that, so it is possible that her daughter may out grow these disfluencies as well (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015). To empathize with my cousin and her concern, I would offer to provide her with the story of my own personal struggle speech disfluencies as well as an account of the specific responses of those around me which were found to be most beneficial. I was diagnosed with developmental stuttering during preschool and was recommended for speech therapy with an SLP. There is a genetic component to the incidence of stuttering, and this played a role in my story as my mom also experienced developmental stuttering as a child (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015).

The difference between our stories however, lies in the reactions we received from those around us. My mom’s stuttering was met with strong reactions, which induced a considerable amount of embarrassment resulting in her becoming very self-conscious and afraid to speak. Remembering her experience as a child, my mom opted not to respond at all to my stuttering behaviors and I believe that this was immensely beneficial as I eventually recovered from it. In addition to this, my parents were trained in a Lidcombe program where they modeled slow, smooth speech at home that I learned to emulate and generalize to all conversations (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015). Given that children learn by example, I would encourage my cousin to employ a similar relaxed paced speech with her daughter in addition to praising fluent speech and avoiding correction of stuttered speech (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015). Should she be interested in the speech techniques used by SLPs, I would outline the two types: direct intervention in which there are clear attempts to modify an individual’s speech and indirect intervention in which the focus is teaching a slow, relaxed model for speech, but there is no direct attempt to change the speech (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015).

Given that I am not an SLP, I wouldn’t take this much further, and would instead direct my cousin to online resources and books for the parents of children who stutter. Some websites and books worth taking a look at include The Stuttering Foundation’s website as well as If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents, and Stuttering and Your Child: Questions and Answers (Stuttering Foundation of America, n.d.). My final suggestion for my cousin would be to see a Speech-Language Pathologist and have them conduct an in-depth assessment and evaluation for the suspected presence of a developmental stuttering disorder. I would stress to my cousin that this meeting be saved for the end, after she has thoroughly conducted her own observations and collected observations from others. This way, she is the most informed regarding her daughter’s status and can present an accurate and representative picture to the SLP who will make the final diagnosis. Should her daughter be diagnosed with a developmental stuttering disorder, the SLP will be able to design a therapy program tailored to her daughter’s needs, which will help set her up for success in the future. In addition, it is also beneficial to see if her daughter’s preschool offers an early intervention program for children demonstrating speech disfluencies as this will also be a great place to access quality, structured speech therapy (McAleer-Hamaguchi, 2017).

In conclusion, my advice for my cousin is to carefully monitor the instances, words, and word-positions her daughter struggles with in order to gain a better understanding of whether the stuttering behaviors are cause for worry or not. It is my hope that the provision of my own story along with additional resources will help to reduce my cousin’s worries and re-direct her attention toward becoming educated on her daughter’s speech patterns. Lastly, I would recommend that my cousin speak with an SLP who is an expert within this area and will be the best judge for a diagnosis and overall need/benefit of speech therapy. I would urge my cousin to remain calm and collected regarding the matter, particularly in front of her daughter who will pick up on all her fears, resulting in them affecting her speech and possibly exacerbating the problem. A much greater use of her time and energy would be to look into the resources I have provided with her so she has a strong understanding of the condition as this will be of greater help to her daughter.