Update on Didactic and Clinical Education in Fluency Disorders: 2013-2014.

Purpose: This study surveyed didactic and clinical education in fluency disorders at undergraduate and graduate institutions in the United States that provide education in speech-language pathology to determine whether a previously observed reduction in requirements has continued since prior surveys (Yaruss, 1999; Yaruss & Quesal, 2002).

Method: The study involved a detailed questionnaire that was sent to 282 communication science and disorders departments. Questions examined didactic and clinical education, as well as faculty knowledge about fluency disorders.

Crystal Ball Gazing: Research and Clinical Work in Fluency Disorders in 2026.

In this article, the authors (with the assistance of colleagues from whom they solicited comments), provide a forward-looking perspective on research and clinical work in fluency disorders in the next 10-15 years. Issues discussed include neurology, genetics, early intervention, and clinical training in stuttering.

A preliminary investigation of daily variability of stuttering in adults.

Purpose: Variability in frequency of stuttering has made the results of treatment outcome studies difficult to interpret. Many factors that affect variability have been investigated; yet the typical range of variability experienced by speakers remains unknown. This study examined the day-to-day variability in the percentage of syllables containing stuttered and nonstuttered disfluencies in the speech of six adult speakers in three spontaneous speaking situations and two reading tasks.

Responses of adults who stutter to the anticipation of stuttering.

Purpose: Many people who stutter experience the phenomenon of anticipation-the sense that stuttering will occur before it is physically and overtly realized. A systematic investigation of how people who stutter respond to anticipation has not been previously reported. The purposes of this study were to provide self-report evidence of what people do in response to anticipation of stuttering and to determine the extent to which this anticipation occurs.

Stuttering in school-age children: a comprehensive approach to treatment.

Purpose: This letter, prepared through a close collaboration between the authors and more than 100 colleagues, responds to a paper by the editor of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools that highlighted the need for research on treatment for stuttering in school-age children.

Method: Our response addresses 3 themes: First, we offer agreement with the editor's call for research because more evidence about treatment for children who stutter is certainly needed. Second, we provide an overview of recent literature, demonstrating that the majority of current treatments include strategies for helping children improve speech fluency in addition to helping them increase acceptance of their stuttering and diminish the negative consequences of the disorder.

The impact of stuttering on quality of life of children and adolescents.

Background: Understanding the experience of people who stutter, both in and out treatment, will lead to improved outcomes.

Aim: To investigate how stuttering affects the quality of life of children and adolescents who stutter.

Method: The Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering--School-Age (OASES-S) was used to assess the impact of stuttering and the Fluency Profile Protocol was used to stuttering severity.

Empathy: perhaps the most important E in EBP.

Treatment of stuttering has recently been influenced by calls for evidence-based practice. Unfortunately, most of the existing treatment "evidence" in stuttering focuses on the surface behaviors of the disorder. Although these behaviors are an important part of the problem of stuttering, they may not be the most critical factor to the person who stutters.

Enhancing treatment for school-age children who stutter II. Reducing bullying through role-playing and self-disclosure.

Unlabelled: This paper describes several treatment strategies that clinicians can use to help children who stutter who are experiencing bullying and other negative reactions from their peers. Specific strategies include problem-solving activities designed to help the child develop appropriate responses to bullying and a classroom presentation designed to educate peers about stuttering. To facilitate clinicians' application of these techniques, the strategies are presented in the context of a case study involving a 9-year-old boy who participated in a comprehensive treatment program for stuttering.

Enhancing treatment for school-age children who stutter I. Reducing negative reactions through desensitization and cognitive restructuring.

Unlabelled: This paper describes several treatment strategies that clinicians can use to address negative affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions that school-age children who stutter may experience as part of their disorder. Specific strategies include desensitization to stuttering, cognitive restructuring, self-acceptance, purposeful self-disclosure, and a combination of both fluency enhancing and stuttering modification approaches. To facilitate clinicians' application of these techniques, the strategies are presented in the context of a case study involving a 9-year-old boy who participated in a comprehensive treatment program for stuttering.

Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES): documenting multiple outcomes in stuttering treatment.

Unlabelled: This paper describes a new instrument for evaluating the experience of the stuttering disorder from the perspective of individuals who stutter. Based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health [World Health Organization (2001). The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, & Health.

Stuttering and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: an update.

Unlabelled: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently presented a multidimensional classification scheme for describing health status and the experience of disablement. This new framework, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001), is a revision of WHO's prior framework for describing the consequences of disorders, the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH; WHO, 1980). In previous papers, Yaruss had shown how the original ICIDH could be adapted to describe the consequences of stuttering at several levels that are relevant to the communication and life experiences of the person who stutters.

Success in the schools: bringing it all together.

Children who stutter can successfully be treated in the schools. This has been the overriding message of the articles in this two-part series in Seminars in Speech and Language, which focuses on school-age children who stutter. This summary article reviews several of the key themes presented in the articles in this series and highlights the importance of taking a broad-based view of the disorder in working with children who stutter.

National Stuttering Association members' opinions about stuttering treatment.

Unlabelled: As stuttering support groups, such as the National Stuttering Association (NSA), have gained prominence and visibility, it has become increasingly important for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to learn about the people who participate in such groups. This article presents results of a brief survey completed by 200 members of the NSA to examine the opinions of support group members regarding the field of speech-language pathology and stuttering treatment options. Results indicate that NSA members hold a variety of opinions, both positive and negative, about the resources available to them.

Strategies for addressing bullying with the school-age child who stutters.

This article outlines basic principles for helping school-age children who stutter to deal with bullying. Bullying may affect children's school performance and feelings of self-worth and lead to depression and feelings of helplessness and loneliness. Bullying can also exacerbate stuttering behavior, increase negative emotions and negative thoughts, and reduce therapy progress.

Speech treatment and support group experiences of people who participate in the National Stuttering Association.

Unlabelled: Support groups are rapidly becoming an important part of the recovery process for many people who stutter, and a growing number of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are encouraging their clients to participate in support groups. At present, however, little is known about the individuals who join stuttering support groups and the benefits they derive from their participation. This study surveyed members of the National Stuttering Association (NSA) to learn about their experiences in support groups, as well as their experiences in speech therapy.

Academic and clinical education in fluency disorders: an update.

Unlabelled: This paper presents a survey of the academic and clinical education in fluency disorders provided by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-accredited training programs. Respondents were 159 programs (out of 256, return rate = 67.4%) that completed a questionnaire seeking information about the courses and clinical experiences they require, the expertise of their faculty and supervisors, changes following the 1993 modification of training requirements for the ASHA certificate of clinical competence (CCC), and preliminary plans for changes in preparation for the 2005 standards.