Fluency
(Stuttering & Cluttering)

Fluency refers to the way we speak, specifically the rate, smoothness and continuity of our speech. According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), a fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking, characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies, which can also be accompanied by excessive tension, speaking avoidance, struggle behaviors and secondary mannerisms. 

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The two disorders associated with fluency are stuttering and cluttering. Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder and characteristics of it include repetitions ("w-w-well"), prolongations ("ssssschool") and blocks (inability to initiate a sound/word for a period of time). The Stuttering Foundation characterizes cluttering as rapid, unclear and/or disorganized speech. 

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At some point in our lives, all of us have had disfluent moments, saying "uh" when we are thinking of what to say or stumbling over a word, both of which would be considered typical disfluencies. However, a true fluency disorder can have negative impacts on a person's quality of life. A speech language pathologist (SLP) is able to assess the severity of a fluency disorder, as well as provide strategies and approaches to help increase fluency, decrease frustration and improve social/emotional effects of the disorder.