Stuttering Fundamentals
Stuttering has been defined as
A. dysfluencies that are stuttering-like
B. a speech event as judged by an expert
C. excessive frequency and duration of dysfluencies
D. choices A, B, and C
D. Stuttering has been variably defined and therefore includes all of the choices: A, B, and C.
The fluent stuttering treatment
A. aims at eliminating stuttering
B. seeks normally fluent speech
C. aims for less abnormal stuttering
D. was developed by Johnson
C. Fluent stuttering treatment is designed to reduce the abnormality of stuttering.
A mother calls a clinician and shares concerns about her child's speech. According to the mother, her daughter, Rachel, is difficult to understand. The mother describes Rachel's speech as "sort of rushed, and she kind of stutters sometimes." The clinician who tests Rachel concludes that Rachel clutters. Based on this diagnosis, one would expect to see that Rachel
A. has a rapid rate of speech but is intelligible and is anxious about her speech
B. is dysfluent but has clear articulation and no spoonerisms
C. has excellent language skills and is highly dysfluent with no speech rate problems
D. has a lack of anxiety or concern about her speech; uses spoonerisms; and has rapid disordered articulation resulting in unintelligible speech
D. Because Rachel clutters, one would expect to see a lack of anxiety or concern about her speech; use of spoonerisms; and rapid, disordered articulation resulting in unintelligible speech.
Parents generally report that stuttering in their children is associated with
A. nothing unusual
B. stressful family
C. accidental head injury
D. severe illness
A. Parents generally report that the onset of stuttering in their children is associated with nothing unusual.
Research on the prevalence of stuttering has shown that
A. familial incidence is higher than in the general population
B. sons of stuttering mothers run a greater risk than sons of stuttering fathers.
C. blood relatives of a stuttering woman run a greater risk of stuttering themselves than those of a stuttering man.
D. all of the above.
D. Research on the prevalence of stuttering has shown all of the listed findings: that familial incidence is higher than in the general population, that sons of stuttering mothers run a greater risk than sons of stuttering fathers, and that blood relatives of a stuttering woman run a greater risk than those of a stuttering man.
Such skills as airflow management, gentle phonatory onset, and reduced rate of speech are targets in
A. the fluent stuttering technique
B. the fluency shaping technique
C. counseling to reduce psychological conflicts
D. direct stuttering reduction strategies
B. Such skills as airflow management, gentle phonatory onset, and reduced rate of speech are targets in the fluency shaping technique.
When the speech-language pathologist provides treatment for Rachel to help her become more intelligible, which techniques would probably be ideal for her?
A. Reducing Rachel's rate of speech and increasing her awareness of her speech through using audio recordings or video recordings
B. Reducing Rachel's rate of speech but not increasing her awareness of her speech through audiotapes or videotapes, because this could create self-consciousness, which could make the cluttering worse
C. Helping Rachel maintain a rapid rate of speech but working on increasing her intelligibility through emphasizing the final consonants of words
D. Probing to see if Rachel has negative emotions (that her mother is unaware of) about her speech and spending most of therapy time helping her deal with these emotions
A. Reducing Rachel's rate of speech and increasing her awareness of her speech through audiotapes or videotapes is the best method of helping her become more intelligible.
You have just assessed a 3-year-old boy for stuttering. The mother asks whether her son is likely to recover without treatment. In giving her a valid answer, you would consider
A. treatment affordability
B. stuttering severity
C. lack of evidence for treating stuttering in preschoolers
D. the boy's emotional responsivity
B. Stuttering severity is one of the factors associated with persistence of stuttering in children.
Stuttering in preschool children is more likely to occur on
A. content words
B. function words
C. final words in a sentence
D. vowels
B. Stuttering in preschool children is more likely to occur on function words.
You have evaluated an 18-year-old man for stuttering. You have decided to use the direct stuttering treatment (reduction) procedure for this person; specifically, which procedure would you select?
A. Time-out
B. Fluency shaping approach
C. Response cost
D. The fluent stuttering approach
A. In treating older students and adults who stutter, a clinician decides to use the direct stuttering treatment (reduction) procedure; specifically, the clinician then selects time-out.
Select the correct statement.
A. Persons who stutter typically clutter as well.
B. Stuttering of adult and early childhood onset share the same etiological factors.
C. Persons who clutter may also stutter.
D. Parents of children who stutter have a unique psychological profile.
C. Cluttering is often associated with stuttering. Stuttering is not typically associated with cluttering.
People who stutter
A. do not have unique personality traits that explain their stuttering
B. are diagnosed with clinically significant anxiety disorders
C. have a unique temperament related to stuttering
D. have obsessive-compulsive traits
A. People who stutter and their families do not have unique personality traits that explain stuttering.
A pediatrician has referred to you a 3-year-old boy for stuttering assessment. The pediatrician is not sure whether the dysfluencies she has observed in the child are normal or indicative of stuttering. You have recorded a speech sample and have analyzed the frequency of disfluencies. On what basis would you diagnose stuttering in this child and recommend treatment?
A. I would diagnose stuttering and recommend treatment if the dysfluency rate is 10% or more of the words spoken.
B. I would diagnose stuttering and recommend treatment if the child exhibits notable associated motor behaviors.
C. I would diagnose stuttering and recommend treatment if the dysfluency rate is 5% or more of the words spoken.
D. I would diagnose stuttering and recommend treatment if the child is anxious about speaking and avoids most speaking situations.
C. Stuttering is diagnosed and treatment recommended if the dysfluency rate is 5% or more of the words spoken.
A 5-year-old child, Marcus, has been identified as needing treatment for his stuttering. His parents report that he has been stuttering since he was 3 years old and the stuttering has become worse. Now children tease him, and his parents are concerned that when he enters kindergarten, the teasing will be worse. The clinician decides to use one of the direct stuttering reduction methods with Marcus. Select the appropriate technique.
A. Delayed auditory feedback and slowed speech
B. Auditory masking
C. Response cost
D. Airflow management and parental counseling
C. One technique of the direct stuttering reduction method is response cost.
You have two young adult males who are seeking treatment for their fluency problem. You have diagnosed stuttering in one person and cluttering in the other. To make it simple, you prefer to use the same procedure with both of them. What could that be?
A. Fluency shaping
B. Fluent stuttering
C. Response cost
D. Delayed auditory feedback
D. Delayed auditory feedback procedure will be appropriate for both the individuals; it will slow the speech rate and reduce stuttering in the person who stutters and slow the speech rate and increase intelligibility in the person who clutters.
Parent-centered treatment of stuttering in children
A. may involve attempts at directly reducing stuttering
B. works exclusively with the parents of children who stutter
C. relies mostly on psychotherapy for the parents
D. does not include the Lidcombe Program
A. Parent-centered treatment may involve attempts at directly reducing stuttering.
Studies on the rates of natural recovery of stuttering suggest
A. less than 20% of children who stutter recover naturally
B. all children who stutter recover by age 8
C. once started, stuttering persists in all children
D. the recovery rate may be as low as 45% or as high as 90%
D. The reported natural recovery rates for stuttering ranges between a low of 45% and a high of 90%.
A 32-year-old man, Frank, wants to go to law school. He is very bright, but stutters and has been working in minimum-wage jobs where he does not have to do much talking. Frank shares that he has passed the entrance examination to get into law school, but he is afraid to enroll in classes. He feels frustrated by his dilemma and says that he is experiencing a great deal of anxiety about his situation. The clinician decides to use the fluent stuttering method. This would involve
A. not discussing Frank's feelings and attitudes but rather teaching and establishing skills such as airflow management, reduced rate, and easy onset of phonation
B. encouraging Frank to discuss his feelings and attitudes about his stuttering, desensitizing him to his stuttering, and using procedures such as time-out and response cost
C. using delayed auditory feedback, masking, and procedures such as time-out and response cost
D. allowing Frank to discuss his feelings and attitudes toward his situation, desensitizing Frank to his stuttering, and helping him modify his stuttering through the use of such techniques as cancellations and pullouts
D. The fluent stuttering approach of Van Riper involves allowing Frank to discuss his feelings and attitudes toward his situation, desensitizing him to his stuttering, and helping him modify his stuttering through the use of such techniques as cancellations and pull-outs.
You have been asked to assess Rudy, a 65-year-old man, for suspected neurogenic stuttering. In your assessment, you expect to observe
A. absence of repetitions on medial and final sounds in words
B. presence of dysfluencies in imitated speech
C. presence of marked adaptation
D. a significant number of severe associated motor behaviors
B. To diagnose neurogenic stuttering, you look for, among other signs, presence of dysfluencies in imitated speech.
An employee in a tech company was able to routinely excuse himself from making oral presentations to his team because of his stuttering; provided other factors also support it, what would be your likely diagnosis of this client?
A. Typical stuttering
B. Psychogenic stuttering
C. Malingered stuttering
D. Neurogenic stuttering
C. Malingered stuttering, in which a person plans to gain advantage by the symptoms.