Fluency Strategies for Speech

Most fluency strategies for speech fall under the categories of fluency shaping or stuttering modification. Effective strategies for both categories address the causes of stuttering, seeking to minimize or eliminate the physical or psychological causes of stuttering. Some individuals may need to address both physical and psychological aspects before successfully producing clearer speech. Talk to a speech-language pathologist to determine the best therapy option.

Stuttering Modification Overview

• Stuttering modification, sometimes described as "stutter-more-fluently" therapy, aims less at speech fluency and more at speech control. Most stuttering modification techniques focus on reducing the fear and psychological tension involved in speaking, but this strategy often attempts to reduce physical tension in the speaker, as well. Patients undergoing stuttering modification need a constant, conscious awareness of their motivation for seeking speech therapy and an ability to identify the feelings and behaviors that accompany their stuttering. Stuttering modification then seeks to desensitize patients to their stuttering before helping them to eventually stabilize their speech.

Stuttering Modification Suggestions

• Address the psychological aspect by reducing the external demands placed on the stutterer. Wait in a relaxed, attentive manner until the patient finishes speaking her thoughts. Parents of children who stutter must reduce competition among family members for time to talk. Teachers must stop and correct any teasing that occurs in the classroom. Address the physical aspect using specific techniques, like "cancellation" and "pull-out." Cancellation requires the stutterer to work through a troublesome word, stop, and repeat the word while stuttering in a different way. Pull-out requires the patient to catch himself in the midst of stuttering, gain control and smooth out the remainder of the word by relaxing his muscles and breathing steadily.

Fluency Shaping Overview

• Fluency shaping, sometimes referred to as "speak-more-fluently" therapy, focuses on altering the physical speech patterns of the stutterer. This type of therapy rarely addresses the psychological aspects of stuttering, and proponents of this therapy argue that eliminating the stuttering itself -- the source of the patient's negative emotions about speech -- will eliminate the patient's psychological distress. Treatment often deals with the timing and tension of a person's speech patterns, encouraging patients to slow their speech and reduce muscle tension in order to smooth out the transitions from one sound to the next.

Fluency Shaping Suggestions

• Fluency shaping techniques appear similar to stuttering modification, but this strategy requires patients to slow down and smooth out all of their words rather than just the words they stutter through. Parents of stuttering children must model a slow, loud and clear speech to their child, adding frequent pauses in between utterances to allow their child a chance to process the information. During therapy, patients themselves must speak slowly in short, one-word, fluent utterances before gradually increasing the length of their utterances into fluently-spoken, complex utterances. Patients may also alter their speaking pattern in a dramatic way, slowing the words down while maintaining fluency, before gradually speeding their speaking up to a normal, fluently-spoken rate.