Stuttering + Cluttering
We are committed to helping people who stutter learn empowering and evidence-based therapy techniques to speak with more confidence every day!
Stuttering is a speech trait that gives speech a fragmented or “bumpy” quality. Stuttering presents as halting speech, tense pauses, or repeating sounds, words, or phrases when speaking.
Some people are “covert stutterers” who find ways to hide these speech patterns. They may avoid using words or phrases that bring out their stutter. For example, someone who often stutters on words that start with W, may avoid saying “world” and use the word “earth” instead. Other people may avoid situations that increase their stuttering, like talking on the phone, or speaking to a large group of people.
Anxiety is not the cause of stuttering. However, anxiety, avoidance, and muscle tension can all lead to an increase in stuttering.
A core component of stuttering therapy is acceptance of your speech. When you accept stuttering, and know that it’s truly OK if you stutter, you will reduce your anxiety around speaking. This will help make communication a more positive and relaxed experience. If you choose to use them, certain speech strategies can help ease your speech, and help you to move through stuttering with less tension. Learning more about the different body parts involved in the speech mechanism can also increase your awareness of your speech and reduce tension.
Cluttering is a speech trait that presents as irregular, fast, and/or disorganized speech. Many people who clutter drop syllables or sounds from their words. Other common symptoms include trouble with sequencing and storytelling, bursts of quick speech, jerky breath patterns, and problems with motor control.
People who clutter often have a hard time self-monitoring their speech. This means they might not be fully aware that they are talking using this speech pattern. They may have difficulty changing their speech or slowing down “in the moment.”
Some strategies and goals to help improve cluttered speech include:
Improving your self-monitoring skills (having mindfulness of your speech “in real time”)
Improving narrative organization (storytelling)
Practicing pronouncing all parts of words and sentences
“I am so thankful for the kind and caring relationship that Alisha was able to build with my daughter, and I am forever grateful for all of the progress that my daughter was able to make while seeing her for speech therapy.”