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Description
Fluency is the smoothness with which sounds,
syllables, words and phrases are joined together during oral language (spoken
language). It also refers to the lack of hesitations and repetitions in
speaking.
Stuttering, also know as disfluent speech is more
than just disruptions in the smooth flow of words. It is also made up of
emotional reactions to the trouble experienced in speaking. Many of these
behaviors and disfluencies will come and go.
It is quite common for children 3 years of age to
5 years of age to display some disfluent speech. It is best to not become
alarmed. Look at your child with interest and calmly wait for your child to
verbalize his/her message. Sometimes by slowing down your own speaking, it
helps your child to slow down and have less disfluencies. It is important to
note that if your child's disfluent speech continues or increases over a 3
month period, please contact your local Speech/Language Pathologist at your
school district for a consultation and/or a possible fluency evaluation.
*WARNING SIGNS*
1) MULTIPLE REPETITIONS: sometimes "starter" words
or sounds such as a prolonged repetition or repeated "uh" or "um" are used.
Parts of words, usually the first syllable and/or sometimes entire word or
phrase are repeated often in many situations. The use of these repetitions may
be a passing phase very much like periods of awkwardness in learning to walk
or run. It is, however, one of the first signs the speech/language pathologist
looks for to see if your child may be stuttering.
2) SCHWA VOWEL:The schwa (or weak) vowel is used
throughout everyday speech. It is a neutral "uh" sound normally found in
unaccented syllables such as "Around," "cOncerned," "sUggest," "wantEd," "thE
boy." The child who is beginning to show more than the normal repetitions
often uses the schwa in a way that delays and distorts the flow of speech. If
the child says "go-go-go-goat," we don't worry. But if the child says
"guh-guh-goat," we identify this as a warning sign.
3) PROLONGATIONS: Sometimes, instead of repeating
initial sounds, your child may prolong the first sound of a word, so that
"Mommy", becomes "Mmmmmmmmmommy".
THESE FIRST THREE SIGNS - repeating sounds,
repeating the schwa, prolonging sounds - may occur occasionally in nearly all
children. IF they begin to occur TOO FREQUENTLY in TOO MANY SPEAKING
SITUATIONS, and begin to AFFECT YOUR CHILD'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE, you
should be concerned.
4) TREMORS: Occasionally you may notice that the
small muscles around your child's mouth and jaw tremble or vibrate when he/she
seems to get stuck on words. The degree of tremor may be mild or intense.
These tremors are associated with difficulties in moving forward with speech
when his/her mouth is held in one position with no sound coming out. The
speech/language pathologist will want to know how often you have noticed these
tremors and if they appear to be lasting longer now than before.
5) RISE IN PITCH & LOUDNESS: As your child tries
to get a word out, the pitch and loudness of the sound that he/she is
prolonging may rise before he/she finishes the word. It may slide upwards or
suddently jump to a higher level. In both cases, he/she is trying to get the
stuck word unstuck, but again this is a sign that he/she needs help.
6) STRUGGLE & TENSION: Your child may struggle to
get words out or have an unusual amount of tension in his/her lips, tongue,
throat or chest when he/she tries to say certain words. At other times he/she
may only have a small amount of necessary tension on the very same words. The
degree of struggle may vary from being hardly noticeable to very obvious in
certain speaking situations, and may disappear entirely for long periods of
time. In any event, struggle and tension increase the chance that he/she will
develop a persistent problem.
7) MOMENT OF FEAR: You may see a fleeting moment
of fear in your child's face as he/she approaches a word that gives trouble.
If so, he/she has probably experienced enough difficulty getting stuck to make
him/her react emotionally to the struggle or anticipation of trouble. He/she
may be afraid of particular words in certain speaking situations, or fear
talking at all. If you can help your child when the fear is still a brief
passing experience, there is a good chance of preventing more devastating
emotional reactions to stuttering from developing.
8) AVOIDANCE: The struggle to speak and fear the
chiild experiences in talking may soon lead him/her to try a variety of
avoidances. He/She may postpone trying a word until he/she is sure he/she can
say it fluently. You may notice an unusual number and length of pauses. He/She
may talk at times, substituting or inserting irrelevent words or meaningless
noises until he/she is ready to say a word. He/She will continue to have
normal delays in speaking as he/she tries to choose words or formulate
sentences but these may now become exaggerated. If he/she does not speak even
when it is clear that he/she knows what he/she wants to say, he/she is
probably avoiding because of growing fears.
THESE LAST FIVE WARNING SIGNS have been discussed
separately but they often occur together. Fear reactions and avoidance are
frequently accompanied by struggle and tension; tremors are due to excess
tension.
THESE EIGHT INDICATORS DIFFER FROM NORMAL
INTERRUPTIONS OF SPEECH IN TWO WAYS. The first three --multiple repetitions,
the schwa vowel, and prolongations--distort speech patterns. Many children
make these distortions but this does not detract seriously from communicaiton.
In some children, however, they are very noticeable, and when used frequently
and in many speaking situations, they should be recognized as signs of
beginning stuttering. The next five--the stuttering tremor, rise in pitch and
loudness, struggle and tension, the moment of fear and avoidance--occur when
your child begins to react to interruptions in his/her speech. These behaviors
seriously inhibit the flow of speeech and disturb communication. They indicate
that your child is trying to do something about the interruptions. He/She may
not be aware that he/she is doing these things for they are automatic
responses. Although some of the avoidances and tension may seem helpful to
him/her at first, they are harmful in the long run because they add
distracting elements to his/her speech and tend to increase his/her fear of
words. These disturbing extras eventually distress both your child and his/her
listeners.
Internet Links
THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION is a non-profit
organization that have published multiple booklets, pamphlets, books to assist
with learning more about stuttering. The Stuttering Foundation provides free
online resources, services and support to those who stutter and their
families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering. They
are the largest - and the first -nonprofit charitable organization in the
world working towards the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering,
reaching over a million people annually.
http://www.stutteringhelp.org
This site is dedicated to providing information
about the nature of early childhood stuttering and ways to prevent its
development. You will find numerous articles about early childhood stuttering,
including warning signs, ways to reduce communication demands for children,
and intervention programs for preventing and treating early childhood
stuttering. You will also find many links to other articles about stuttering
in school-aged children and adults.
http://www.prevent-stuttering.com/
Good information about stuttering and its treatment
http://www3.fhs.usyd.edu.au/asrcwww////treatment/index.htm
The Stuttering Foundation provides free online
resources, services and support to those who stutter and their families, as
well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.
http://www.stutteringfoundation.org
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