Fluency and Stuttering
When a student experiences an interruption to the flow of their speech, this is considered a fluency disorder. This interruption of speech is evident in the atypical rate, rhythm and repetition in sounds, syllables, words and phrases.
Stuttering usually starts in children when they are around 2-4 years of age. Stuttering usually begins when children start joining words together to form complex sentences (Onslow, 2000). There are varying measures of stuttering severity, ranging from mild to severe, depending on the percentage of syllables stuttered.
Can stuttering be treated?
Yes. Some children may recover on their own without having had treatment. Other children however, may need early intervention with therapy from speech therapists. It is critical that children are referred as soon as possible for intervention as failure to do so may lead to a lifetime of debilitating stuttering (Onslow, 2000, p.73). The Lidcombe program has been successful in reducing stuttering, where children have near zero stuttering levels for the medium and long term whilst stuttering in adulthood is around 1% (Onslow, 2000, p.74).
More information on stuttering can be found at the Australian Stuttering Research Centre.
If the teacher is unsure a child has a fluency disorder, they can compare the child’s speech to what a typical fluent speech would sound like by considering the following factors:
- Speech is rather effortless
- Speech has few repetitions and prolongations
- Speech contains very few abnormal pauses
- Speech moves with ease (Onslow, 2000, p. 43).