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Case Study #1

2. I chose this article to help further explain my clinical scenario better in terms of early stuttering and normal disfluency. In Rileys case, shes going to be evaluated whether or not her speech falls within normal disfluency or is an early form of stuttering. The article presents evidence that show children who stutter repeat faster. Also, as the children stutter, they are aware that their speech is a little off; whereas, normal disfluency children can continue speaking without it occurring to them that their speech may have few repetitions here and there or their speech would contain hesitations. Similarly in Rileys case, her speech contains occasional whole word repetitions as well as hesitations. Although, her mother is concerned that it is a possibility it could be early stuttering, the articles data emphasizes that Riley just has troubles in normal disfluency, which is usually common among young children; therefore, Rileys mother should not worry about it too much so that it does not begin to negatively affect Rileys self esteem in her speech.

3. Nicholas Brendon (born April 12, 1971- present), is a famous American Actor, best known for his role as Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When he was seven or eight, his speech disfluency became widely apparent. It turned out to be uncontrollable stuttering. He became more anxious and embarrassed being aware that his speech was vastly different than his peers. He used to be afraid to talk in public, afraid to talk to strangers, and felt ostracized. After deciding to take on acting as a gateway to overcome his stuttering problem, he became more confident in himself, and so his stuttering subsided. However, Brendon has not forgotten the adversity he faced and so wanted to do give back to the community and share his story. As a result, Brendon has played a major part in the Stuttering Foundation of America. He was also the first person to serve the role of honorary chairperson of the Stuttering Foundation of Americas Stuttering Awareness Week from 2000-20003. 4. Riley most likely belongs in the articulation disorder category; however, I would not necessarily call her case a disorder, but more of a type of speech delay. The reason is because in speech delay, articulation errors or phonological processes are often seen in the children her age. The progression of speech is the same as that of normal speech; however, it is just much slower (Plante 2008:76). A disorder on the other hand would mean that Rileys speech is all out of order, which isnt the case. Rileys basic normal disfluencies, typically occur on whole words, phrases, or sentences; [while] stuttering is more likely to affect single sounds and syllables (Plante 2008:102). As the book explains, Rileys problem area lies not in the phonological production of sound exactly, but more of the articulatory production of a few discrete sounds. 5. Because Riley does not suffer from early onset stuttering, she would not the form of delayed auditory feedback therapy; however, the practice of stuttering modification can possibly help

Riley eliminate the way she repeats those whole word repetitions. Some of these techniques may involve intentionally extending the number of part-word repetitions produced on a stuttered word (Plante 2008:100), so that the client, such as Riley, can gain more control over her speech behavior. Another way is to also have the clinician or speech pathologist to participate in speech repetition too, by repeating part of a sentence during the conversation alongside the client, as demonstrated with Abraham (Plane 2008:100). Overall, Rileys normal disfluency should not pose a threat whatsoever; in fact, for most children, these episodes reflect normal development, rather than the onset of stuttering (Plante 2008:101). Rileys normal disfluency should slowly disappear, as she grows older.

Works Cited Ambrose, N. G., & Yairi, E. (1999). Normative disfluency data for early childhood stuttering. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42(4), 895-909. Website: http://search.proquest.com/docview/232332297?accountid=14214 viewed, 10/21/13 Moran, Reed. (2001) Nicholas Brendon Faces Down Stuttering Demon. USA TODAY. Website: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2001-05-15-brendon-stutteringlife.htm viewed, 12/21/13 Plante, Elena. Beeson, Pelagie. (2008). Communication and Communication Disorders: A Clinical Introduction. Third Edition. Pearson Education Inc.

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