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Fluency and Stuttering Therapy

At Rock Therapeutic Services, we are able to complete standardized and non-standardized fluency assessments and set goals to meet your needs.

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What is Fluency and Stuttering?

Fluency refers to the continuity, smoothness, effort, and rate of speech production. If your child has a problem with fluency, they may hesitate to speak or repeat words or phrases. A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking. Your child could exhibit a repetition of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases when they speak. Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder. It is an interruption in the flow of speaking.

Contact our Seattle Speech Therapists for your consultation.

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How We Can Help.

A few examples of fluency and stuttering

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Repetition of sounds
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Blocks
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Rapid or irregular speech rate
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Frequent shifting of topics
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Cluttering

Common Questions & Helpful FAQs

What causes Stuttering?

Two most likely factors contribute to stuttering:

  • Genetics: approximately 60% of those who stutter have a family member who also stutters;
  • Child development: Children with other speech and language disorders/difficulties are more
    likely to stutter.

Don’t all children stutter at some point?

Some pre-school children may go through periods of speech disfluency where they repeat words and phrases – which is perfectly normal. Only 5% of children show signs of actual stuttering, like sound repetitions, prolongations of sounds, and speech blocks. About 75% of children will not continue to stutter, but those who continue will benefit from specialized speech therapy.

Does my child only stutter because they’re nervous?

Nervousness does not cause stuttering! Speech fluency can be disrupted in the context of emotional distress. Nervousness and feeling pressured is not a direct link to stuttering. It is important not to assume that people who stutter and clutter are prone to be nervous, fearful, or shy.

What causes my child to stutter all of a sudden?

The sudden onset of stuttering may be the result of the following:

  • Neurogenic: brain having trouble sending signals to areas of the brain that control speaking;
  • Psychogenic: emotional difficulties;
  • Or brain trauma.

Although stuttering can happen all of a sudden, stuttering can also develop gradually over time.

How can I help my child with stuttering or cluttering at home?

Our speech-language pathologists will give you tips to work on at home, but here are a few ways to support your child who stutters or clutters their speech.

Speak with your child in an unhurried way, pausing frequently. Waiting a few seconds to speak after your child finishes speaking will be far more effective than letting them know to “slow down” or “go
slowly.”

Use more wait time. If your child begins to stutter or clutter, wait for them to finish their sentence. Although you may think it is helpful to continue on to what they are saying, give them time to finish their
phrase before beginning to speak.

Encourage taking turns when talking. Help all members of your family take turns talking and listening. Children may find it easier to talk where there are fewer interruptions.

From Our Clients

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I have been so very impressed by the providers at this establishment. My daughter is completely nonverbal and is nine years old and can have some behaviors that are hard to deal with. The two speech therapist we work with here continue to surprise me with their ingenuity. Every session they come prepared with multiple activities already planned out. We have seen speech therapist in downtown Seattle and driven hours to see speech specialists. I am so happy to have fabulist speech therapist so close to home. Elvina and Michael are amazing! The continuity of care has exceeded my expectations.

Nina Obrien- Google Reviews

I really value what they do and as a Mother and sister of two family members who needed services I can say it has completely changed our family. Rock is very friendly, professional, clean, and welcoming. I would highly recommend them – even if you just ‘wonder’ if they can help, it’s worth it to make the call!

Debbie Chadwick- Google Reviews

I can’t say enough good things about Rock Therapeutic Services. My 3-year old daughter has some speech delays. Trying to get a toddler to focus is hard but Adrienne is so patient and gets down to her level to interact and play games with her while they work on her speech. Our daughter is so happy and looks forward to her appointments. All the staff that work there are so friendly. I would highly recommend!

Megan Soha- Google Reviews