Question
I have a junior high student with normal dysfluencies that are very disruptive during conversation. What do you think about direct therapy for a student like that?
Answer
One of the questions that comes to mind is if this student is having normal dysfluencies because they're having cluttering. If so, that would be something to evaluate further. Also, I would think about word retrieval and perhaps doing a language map. For example, you would have the child draw pictures or come up with key words that will be used in the story before they tell it. Then they use the language map or words to help tell the story. That might help with word retrieval and may have an impact on normal dysfluencies.
Now, if the student has a lot of interjections and you think it is because he/she is avoiding stuttering then that is another issue and would not be dealt with by doing a language map. You would need to address the avoidance behaviors. You would have to ask the child if he or she sometimes avoids stuttering by using fillers or changing the words.
This Ask the Expert was taken from the course entitled: Stuttering: Effective Treatment Techniques for Children and Adults
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Marilee Fini, M.A. CCC/SLP is a practicing speech-language pathologist in Cleveland, OH running her own private practice, MLF Speech Therapy. Marilee regularly speaks on the subject of stuttering throughout the U.S. shedding a unique light on the subject of stuttering since she has spent most of her life dealing with her own stuttering.
