The bumpy speech road… It is the road less traveled. According to the National Stuttering Foundation, approximately 1% of the population stutters. For many, this road may also include embarrassment, frustration, and isolation.
“If you find yourself going down this bumpy road, you are in good company; Winston Churchhill, King George VI, Marilyn Monroe, James Earl Jones and others have all travelled with you.”
SLP history buffs… you will love this! Watch a clip of King George VI during a speech to rally the support of his nation on the brink of World War II.
Let Me Finish: A Stuttering Documentary
Fortunately, speech-language pathologists can play a key role in supporting those with dysfluency by providing therapy for stuttering (e.g., learn where the tension they experience anatomically originates, target the thoughts and feelings that often accompany a stuttering moment, and choose fluency shaping strategies). SLPs also educate teachers, parents, and other professionals about stuttering. This video contains the basics about stuttering. Enjoy sharing it with parents and teachers!
Each individual who experiences dysfluent speech has a unique journey as they become empowered to embrace this aspect of their lives and are provided with tools that they may choose to use while communicating.
Here are some resources that we’ve compiled to help those with dysfluent speech SHINE!
BOOKS TO USE IN THERAPY – Children’s books about fluency:
Trouble at Recess: A Sure Hit
Free downloadable book written by an 8-year old child who stutters
Sometimes I Just Stutter
Free downloadable book targeted to 7-12 year olds who stutter
My Very Own: I Can Do It Storybook Starring Me
A book for children aged 4-6 that is customizable to the child – great tool to use over several therapy sessions – ‘social story’ for children who stutter
Hooray for Aiden
A young girl who stutters, overcomes her fear of speaking in front of classmates at her new school
Love Puppies and Corner Kicks
A teenage girl’s story about dealing with challenges of being a teenager and stuttering
As speech-language pathologists, we perform fluency assessments far less frequently than we do assessments of language or articulation. In this presentation, I’ll share some of the tasks I include in my fluency assessment, tips for analysis and goal settings, and a cool tool I created to speed up your analysis.
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