Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay

Moreover, there is his mother’s cousin who stuttered at a young age but later grew over it. Most of the young children undergo a period of stuttering of up to 5% of their speech. Majority of such cases are resolved either through treatment or spontaneously. Thus, chances are also high that Cara would grow over it by the age of five but the mother is concerned that the cycle is deteriorating since her stutters are more obvious and rampant now occurring on a daily basis. The second benefit is visible in the way her mother is concerned about her (Cara’s) wellbeing and thus took her to a speech therapist. She was concerned about the intervention taking place for her daughter. She indicated that Cara’s speech and language skills developed at a similar rate to that of her peers. However, the problem began soon after her 3rd birthday when she began stuttering and having real difficulties in pronouncing words.Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay.  The stuttering appeared to have gone and then come back worse than ever. Thus, the mother was concerned about the welfare of her daughter since she felt the condition had deteriorated and she could not wait for a longer period before she could intervene for her daughter. The third advantage is the way Cara lives in a well-integrated nuclear family. She lives at home with her mother, father and her baby brother who is one year old. This nuclear family provides her with the required parental support (Cummings 2008). Her health condition is good and she has a very active lifestyle where she is able to meet all her milestones in development. Her gross and even the fine motors skills are of appropriate according to her age and she presents excellent play skills. Cara has developed her language and speech at a similar rate with her peers. This is a good sign indicating that her stuttering could just be a phase that she was going through and she could come over it before the age of five. Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay.

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When you have a fluency disorder it means that you have trouble speaking in a fluid, or flowing, way. You may say the whole word or parts of the word more than once, or pause awkwardly between words. This is known as stuttering. You may speak fast and jam words together, or say “uh” often. This is called cluttering.

These changes in speech sounds are called disfluencies. Many people have a few disfluencies in their speech. But if you have a fluency disorder, you will have many disfluencies when you talk. For you, speaking and being understood may be a daily struggle.

Signs of a fluency disorder

A fluency disorder causes problems with the flow, rhythm, and speed of speech. If you stutter, your speech may sound interrupted or blocked, as though you are trying to say a sound but it doesn’t come out. You may repeat part or all of a word as you say it. You may drag out syllables. Or you may talk breathlessly, or seem tense while trying to speak. If you clutter, you often speak fast and merge some words together or cut off parts of them. You may sound like you are slurring or mumbling. And you may stop and start speech and say “um” or “uh” often when talking. Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay.

Some people have both stuttering and cluttering. They may also have what are known as “accessory” or “secondary” behaviors. These methods are used to try to avoid or cover up disfluencies. These behaviors can include:

• Covering your mouth or pretending to cough or yawn to cover up stuttering
• Not speaking, even when you want or need to
• Not using certain words that seem to cause stuttering
• Pretending to forget what you wanted to say
• Rearranging words in sentences
• Using “filler” sounds between words to make the rate of speech sound more normal

Children with fluency disorders also may develop beliefs that can hinder them later on. For example, a child who stutters may decide that speaking is difficult by nature. Fear, anxiety, anger, and shame involving speaking are also common.

What causes a fluency disorder?

The exact causes of fluency disorders are not known. It may be genetic and run in families. It can happen at the same time as another speech disorder. The signs of a fluency disorder can be made worse by emotions such as stress or anxiety. Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay.

Diagnosing and treating fluency disorders

Experts feel it is important to assess and address speech disorders early. Children who struggle with speech can find school and community activities challenging or painful because they are not able to communicate their thoughts. They might even have problems developing friendships.

A fluency disorder can be diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). An SLP will ask about your medical history and listen to you speak. The SLP may do an oral-mechanism exam and testing of speech-language skills.

Once you are diagnosed, an SLP can use exercises and strategies to help you speak more fluently. A fluency disorder is not something that can be cured. But an SLP uses different kinds of methods to help you manage speech day-to-day. These methods can reduce the number of disfluencies in your daily speaking.

An SLP can help you lower your own stress around moments of fluency problems. The SLP will work on changing your negative feelings, thoughts, and beliefs about your speech. They will help you reduce the use of accessory behaviors. You will learn strategies such as speaking in shorter sentences, and controlling your breathing and the rate of your speech. An SLP will often talk with family, caregivers, and teachers about the disorder and how to help.

If someone you know has a fluency disorder:

• Use available resources. Public schools are required to assess children with communication disorders and, if the child meets certain criteria, provide treatment services.  Language Therapy of Disorders of Fluency Essay.If you have a child as young as age 3 with communication problems, contact your local public school’s office and talk to the principal about assessment options.

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• Be patient and supportive. As frustrating as it is for you to try to understand someone with a fluency disorder, it can be much more frustrating for the person who has it. Be as patient as you can while the person works on their speech.
• Be kind. Making fun of a person with a fluency disorder is a form of bullying. It is destructive and may take away the person’s desire to communicate.
• Join a support group. Many fluency disorders, such as stuttering, have support groups. Spending time with other families coping with fluency disorders can be helpful.