Potentials of Etiology Influencing Clinical Practice
Hello! We are 2nd year graduate students in speech-language pathology at the University of South Carolina. We have heard many theories of what causes stuttering, and the evidence does not seem conclusive. Could etiology be influencing success in intervention for persons who stutter? How as clinicians do we take this into account when planning interventions? Also, if a comorbid disorder is known to be present, such as Down syndrome, how can clinicians adjust their intervention to meet the individual’s needs?
Hello and thank you for your question. Yes, etiology can influence success for intervention. If stuttering is neurogenic, for example, some have advocated fluency generating activities to help alleviate the behaviors. A patient with neurogenic stuttering may be more bothered by the stuttering behaviors than by negative emotions about stuttering or negative thoughts about self and the disorder. There have been a few efficacy studies about patients with Down Syndrome, and fluency generating therapy has been found to be effective with this population as well. Listening to what your client wants and doing some readings in treatment efficacy can help you be effective with your clients who stutter.
Kind regards,
Jean