STUTTERING Home About Fluent speech is smooth, forward-moving, unhesitant and effortless speech. A "dysfluency" is any break in fluent speech. Everyone has dysfluencies from time to time. The average person will have between 7-10% of their speech dysfluent. These dysfluencies are usually word or phrase repetitions, filler (um, ah) or interjections. STUTTERING is speech that has more dysfluencies than considered average. When a speaker experiences dysfluencies at a rate greater than 10% they may be stuttering. Stuttering is often accompanied by tension and anxiety. Dysfluencies that are more characteristic of stuttering include sound or syllable repetition, prolongations (unnatural stretching out of sounds) and blocks (sound gets stuck and can't come out). A percentage of dysfluency can be determined by counting the number of dysfluencies in a 100-word sample. Treatment approaches fall into two camps: "speak more fluently" or "stutter more easily". An integration of the 2 approaches is ideal for many individuals. The "speak more fluently" approach focuses on fluency-enhancing skills (i.e. easy onsets, light contacts, blending). The "stutter more easily" approach helps the individual to reduce tension and modify his/her stuttering so that it does not interfere with their ability to communicate.

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