Stuttering Therapy Resources
Download the free list of stuttering therapy resources
Download free resource
Enter your email below to access this resource.
By entering your email address, you are opting-in to receive emails from SimplePractice on its various products, solutions, and/or offerings. Unsubscribe anytime.
Looking for stuttering therapy resources for speech-language pathologists (SLPs)? Use the stuttering therapy activities in this article to support your clients.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are uniquely equipped to support people who stutter, and there are a wide array of tools and activities they can use to support clients who stutter.
The stuttering therapy resources provided in this article are designed to help SLPs take the guesswork out of session planning. From fluency shaping strategies to stuttering modification techniques, we have you covered. What’s more, SimplePractice has everything speech-language pathologists need to manage their private practices.
Next time you begin working with a client who stutters, turn to these stuttering therapy activities to maximize the efficacy of your intervention.
How SLPs can use stuttering therapy resources
No two people who stutter are alike. Everyone has a unique backstory—whether they are new to speech therapy or they have been seeing an SLP for years.
This is why it’s so important to tailor therapeutic activities to each individual who seeks our services—and this is made easier with the right set of resources.
Stuttering is unique in its emotional impact. When a client meets with you for that first appointment, it’s important to understand their history and personal objectives. You can ask them directly: “What are their goals for speech therapy?”
No matter what your client is seeking, having a collection of stuttering therapy resources handy can help you support them in making progress.
You can save these resources to your practice management software for SLPs for future reference, or print out the downloadable checklist to keep a physical reminder in your office.
Use this guide to build a treatment plan, brainstorm new intervention ideas, or learn about the various activities that support fluency. These stuttering therapy resources can be used for both adult and pediatric clients.
Stuttering therapy activities
Stuttering therapy activities should focus on reducing the negative impact of stuttering and decreasing avoidance and concomitant behaviors, while boosting quality of life and effectiveness of communication.
A multi-pronged approach tends to be most useful when addressing stuttering and fluency.
Speech-language pathologists can integrate techniques and activities, such as:
Creating a speaking hierarchy
With an emphasis on avoidance reduction, the client ranks speaking situations from least to most feared. Therapy involves gradual desensitization to each scenario. This might look like pseudostuttering (voluntary stuttering) or self-disclosing stuttering in various contexts.
Mindfulness
Meditation and mindful breathing exercises can reduce tension and support clients in managing the complex emotions that may accompany stuttering.
Cognitive restructuring
Identify cognitive distortions about stuttering and support clients in eradicating limiting thinking patterns. Activities may borrow elements from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Stuttering modification
Help clients reduce the physical tension and struggle that go hand-in-hand with stuttering by practicing preparatory sets, pull-outs, and cancellations during therapy.
Fluency shaping
Modify timing, tension, and voicing during speech production. These techniques fall under the umbrella of speech modification—fostering greater fluency and ease when speaking.
Stuttering techniques for adults
Stuttering modification strategies can benefit clients of all ages by minimizing physical tension during moments of disfluency.
This collection of stuttering therapy resources incorporates techniques that specifically support adults.
Stuttering strategies for adults should focus on:
- Recognizing all aspects of stuttering, including physical concomitant behaviors
- Identifying physical tension in the body and understanding its relationship to stuttering
- Learning to reduce physical struggle and tension, within the context of stuttering.
Speech therapy for stuttering may include strategies like preparatory sets, pull-outs, and cancellations.
Preparatory sets involve the use of sound prolongation and light articulatory contact preceding disfluencies. You can support clients in anticipating stuttering before it occurs by taking preemptive measures to reduce the impact of disfluencies.
Pull-outs can facilitate smoother stuttering. Therapy consists of helping clients learn to adjust voicing and airflow to “slide” out of stuttered words.
Cancellations are a means of taking back control after stuttering. This strategy involves pausing to adjust the vocal tract and then re-attempting the stuttered word with greater ease.
Fluency strategies for stuttering
Stuttering therapy activities, like fluency shaping, are essential when supporting clients who stutter.
Fluency shaping—sometimes called speech modification—involves adjustment of timing, tension, and voicing.
These techniques can be deployed at any time, not only when disfluencies occur. When paired together, they support greater speech fluency.
The most common fluency shaping strategies include:
- Syllable prolongation
- Light articulatory contact
- Easy onset
- Reduced speech rate
- Continuous phonation
It’s important to remember that these speech modification strategies may not resonate with every client. They are among the treatment options listed in this collection of stuttering therapy resources, however, there are many others to choose from should you need to adjust your approach for a specific client.
Finding the right fit for each client—whether it’s a mix of cognitive restructuring, stuttering modification, or fluency shaping techniques—is what matters.
Fluency shaping vs. stuttering modification
Fluency shaping strategies involve adjusting elements of speech with the aim of increased fluency. Stuttering modification is an approach that focuses on altering or adjusting stuttering when it happens.
Sometimes, there is confusion differentiating these two stuttering therapy techniques. Both can be useful for clients who stutter, And, at times, it’s helpful to deploy these stuttering therapy activities together in the same session.
SLPs can use fluency shaping to help clients play with timing, tension, and voicing. Therapy encompasses instruction in techniques like syllable prolongation, easy onset, light articulatory contact, rate control, and continuous phonation.
These tools can help clients improve their overall intelligibility and communication while reducing the likelihood of disfluencies.
Stuttering modification strategies—which date back to Charles Van Riper’s 1973 research—are all about reducing the physical struggle and tension that often accompany stuttering.
The four stages of stuttering modification therapy are:
- Identification
- Desensitization
- Modification
- Generalization
Learning about the mechanisms of speech, developing greater self-awareness, and ultimately building self-monitoring skills can make it easier for clients to move through moments of stuttering when they occur.
With reduced physical tension, disfluencies are less disruptive.
As a speech-language pathologist, empowering people to communicate more confidently is part of your mission.
SLPs who use stuttering therapy resources with clients which include preparatory sets, pull-outs, and cancellations are providing the tools for clients to communicate more smoothly and express themselves with greater ease.
Practice management software for SLPs
Run your entire speech therapy practice from one simple, secure EHR system with SimplePractice.
- Effectively manage scheduling, billing, documentation, and more
- Stay secure with a HIPAA-compliant solution you can trust
- Take your practice on-the-go with a convenient mobile app
Try SimplePractice free for 30 days. No credit card needed.