Accurate Diagnosis Leads to More Efficient Speech Therapy for Stuttering

Today I am excited to be working on my presentation for the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association, “Differential Diagnosis of Fluency Disorders.” I gave this talk for the first time at the National Stuttering Association Annual Conference in Austin this summer :) Since I have 1.5 hours for the presentation at TSHA, I have added a bit more information and a couple of case studies!

Over several years of evaluating children, teens, and adults who stutter, I saw many different stuttering behaviors. Some of them fit neatly within what I learned about developmental stuttering in graduate school, some of them were a little different, and some of them were completely different. 

With a lot of research, posts on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Special Interest Group 4: Fluency and Fluency Disorders, consultations with colleagues, and practice, I felt like I had a better understanding of the various types of fluency disorders. I feel passionate about sharing this information with SLPs so that others don’t need years of practice and research to put this information together for themselves. In the words of Rick Steves, a guidebook is a $20 investment for a few thousand dollar trip. There’s no need to make the same mistakes yourself on your trip - you can learn from his! (full disclosure: I’m a total travel junkie and have watched a ridiculous number of travel documentaries. If you ever need someone with a massive amount of travel trivia knowledge, I’m your girl!) 

My hope is that the small investment of time attending this presentation will help others learn from my experiences so that more clients will receive a timely, accurate diagnosis and more appropriate and efficient treatment.

If you have questions about differential diagnosis, please reach out! I would love to know how this presentation can benefit you! I can be reached at dana@infinitehorizonspeech.com!

Keywords: Keywords: speech therapy, stuttering, cluttering, learning disabilities, dyslexia, childhood apraxia of speech, voice, teletherapy, telepractice, Texas, Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Klein, Spring, Woodlands