Evaluation of Stuttering







Assessment of stuttering is a process that usually takes many meetings. Most of the truly important information does not emerge until the relationship between the client and clinician has a chance to develop. There is however, a minimal set of elements that do need to emanate from the initial interaction.
They include:

 
  • gathering basic demographic/contact information
  • establishing a diagnosis
  • documenting baseline disfluency data (severity rating and description)
  • agreeing upon a course of future action

Many factors do not emerge until later as the client may not be:

 
  • ready to reveal emotionally-based information at the outset
  • knowledgeable of the importance of some factors
  • aware of variables which relate to his or her stuttering

There are not always formal tests to evaluate some important parameters of the client's stuttering. Further, their beliefs and perceptions (rather than structural or developmental abilities) strongly influence their behaviors and performance. Learning these beliefs and perceptions takes time and trust, and are not often revealed in the initial session.

Clients usually seek evaluation because they are not able to resolve their difficulty on their own. There is often a sense of helplessness and frustration that accompany people in this situation. The clinician is a ray of hope and must act judiciously, walking a fine line between instilling hope and conveying a realistic picture of the hardships that lie ahead in therapy.

There are multiple components to an evaluation, each of which will be presented in more detail. They include:

Background Information A history of the development of the client's stuttering, past therapies, family history of stuttering, the outcome they expect from the assessment, how stuttering affects their life
Communication Abilities A report of their skills in the five parameters of communication - stuttering, articulation, voice, language and hearing
Oral-Peripheral Examination A description of atypical structures and the functional abilities of the mechanism
Prognosis A review of factors which are likely to promote and hinder the successful outcome in therapy

The links below provide further descriptions and resources for evaluating adults and adolescents who stutter. A sample evaluation report is also available.

 

© Rentschler, 2004