The RCSLT (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists) uses the following definition to describe dysfluency:
Dysfluent speech is the disruption of the forward flow and timing of speech by repetition of sounds, syllables or words, sound prolongation and/or blocking on sounds, silent or audible, (Bloodstein and Bernstein Ratner 2008).
For the dysfluent person, also referred to as the stammerer, dysfluency can feel hugely debilitating, often impacting on their daily lives, causing them to fear and often avoid various social situations.
One of the main voices for dysfluency and dysfluency therapy was educator, clinical psychologist and author, Dr Joseph Sheehan.
Dr. Sheehan was a huge advocate of looking at the person who stammers as a ‘whole’. He advised that direct work on helping an individual become more fluent can be helpful in the short term, however, a focus on the thoughts, attitudes and feelings can bring about long-term change.
He represented this idea by using the ‘iceberg’ analogy.
As the picture shows, the top of the iceberg (what we can actually see) is minimal in comparison to the rest of the iceberg beneath the water (what we cannot see). Sheehan described a stammer like an iceberg – what we can see, also referred to as overt characteristics, are the ‘tip of the iceberg’. These characteristics can include repetitions of sounds, blocks, fidgeting and prolongations to name a few.
But below the surface, ‘the rest of the iceberg’, are the feelings and attitudes conjured up by the stammer. These are the things that we cannot see as observers/ listeners, but the stammerer has to contend with every day. These can include: avoidance behaviours; negative thoughts; negative feelings.
It is these coverts behaviours that are often essential to address in therapy before any work can be done on overt behaviours although there are exceptions to the rule.
If you feel you or anyone you know would benefit from intervention regarding your stammer, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the following link to contact form on our website:
