Fluency Disorders is a comprehensive textbook that offers readers in-depth information about fluency-related issues across a range of clinical populations including developmental and acquired stuttering, cluttering, and various types of developmental and acquired language impairment.
Key features of this text include detailed reviews of contemporary research on both typical and disordered fluency, along with analyses of (1) processes integral to fluent communication; (2) various professional perspectives on fluency; (3) etiologies and characteristics of disorders affecting speech fluency; (4) effects of fluency impairment on communication and quality of life; and (5) current clinical approaches to assessing speech fluency and minimizing the impact of fluency disorders through evidence-based prevention and treatment principles.
Fluency Disorders is ideal for graduate courses on stuttering and related disorders of fluency. Readers will learn to describe fluency disorders within the framework of communication and to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for working with clients who have impaired fluency. This approach is consistent with current standards for clinical certification specified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association s Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC).
The text is divided into four main sections:
- Foundational Concepts addresses fundamental fluency concepts, the nature of fluent speech production, approaches to describing fluency, and fluency characteristics of typical speakers. This section also addresses issues related to individual differences, cultural and linguistic influences, and fluency changes over the lifespan.
- Etiologies and Characteristics of Fluency Disorders offers detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and correlates of developmental stuttering, cluttering, and acquired stuttering, as well as descriptions of fluency patterns observed in various language disorders and genetic syndromes.
- Clinical Assessment explores key fluency assessment principles, practical methods for collecting and analyzing fluency-related data, and approaches to interpreting assessment results and formulating treatment recommendations.
- Treatment Approaches includes evidence-based principles and strategies for facilitating clients fluency functioning, methods for individualizing treatment plans and evaluating treatment outcomes, and an overview of contemporary approaches used to treat fluency disorders across the lifespan.
With specific, easy-to-follow instructions for conducting clinical procedures, decision-making diagrams, reference tables, and comprehensive coverage of normal bases, disorders, and evidence-based practice, Fluency Disorders is truly distinguishable from other texts in the field.
