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From: John Tetnowski
Date: 14 Apr 2010
Time: 10:58:32 -0500
Remote Name: 130.70.138.144
Bobby, You do not know how difficult that question is to answer. Just a few years ago, I would not have even attempted to answer it and I hesitate now, but here is my best answer. "Since cluttering does tend to run in family groups, there is probably some genetic predisposition to it. The disorder is manifested in the rapid and/or irregular production of speech, so there are likely some minute differences in the speech production centers of the brain". With this in mind, "the best treatments are those that promote awareness to the particualr symptoms and re-route/re-train the individual to compensate for those specific symptoms. This is not such a simple task, since lack of awareness often accompanies cluttering. Educating the client (as well as family, teachers, etc.) will usually be helpful. Rate control, stressing normal cadence of speech is often helpful. Furthermore, we know that cluttering rarely exists in isolation, so an in-depth assessment of other speech, language, learning, and cognitive skills is often required. Once specific symptoms are identified, we should scaffold the learning to meet the needs of the individual". I hope this helps, but basically what I am saying is "pinpoint the symptoms, then treat those that impair communication". Thanks, John Tetnowski