COMPONENT 7. MODIFICATION OF THE STUTTERING MOMENT

Rationale: To teach the child to stutter easily and without struggling.

Research:  

Conture (1990) -has observed that stuttering patterns will begin to 
"change as children become more and more objectively aware of
where and when in the speech utterance they begin to stutter" 
(pg.174).  "Changing rather than pushing or pulling on speech 
postures" only causes them to hesitate and stutter even harder.

Dell (1979) - advocated teaching the child there are three ways of 
saying a word; the fluent way, the hard stuttering way and the easy
stuttered way. 

Guitar and Peters (1991) - "the first aim of stuttering modification
treatment for the elementary school-aged stutterer is to help him 
reduce the abnormality of his stuttering."

Van Riper (1973) - advocated immediate attempts to get the child to
substitute a new pattern of easy stuttering for the old one of 
struggle. 


Activities/Techniques:

 1. Model for the child an easier form of stuttering.  Teach him/her
    that by reacting to the stuttering moment with struggle and 
    tension, the stuttering becomes harder.  The clinician should
    contrast the hard stuttering with the easy stuttering, and then
    ask the child to imitate the production.

 2. Drill activities (single word to reading level) are helpful in
    massing practice of pull-outs.  Model for the child examples of
    appropriate pull-outs prior to and during each exercise.

 3. Carl Dell's approach discussed previously is an excellent way of
    teaching the child how to change their speech from hard stuttering
    to easy stuttering.  Playing games in which the child classifies 
    the clinician's production (hard, easy, or regular) and vice-a-
    versa, provided the child with examples of different speech 
    patterns and empowers him to make "choices" regarding his 
    stuttering. 

 4. During conversational or more unstructured activities, identify
    instances of hard stuttering for the child and model an easier
    way of saying the word.  The child is then asked to imitate the
    easier, modified form.  One way of demonstrating this is by 
    having the clinician clench his/her fist at the onset of a moment 
    of stuttering, holding onto the moment, reducing its strength, 
    and slowly open the fist as the stuttering moment is released.  
    Then the client and clinician demonstrate this behavior together,
    talking about "getting stuck and getting unstuck." Gradually, 
    the client cues himself during a moment of stuttering and slowly
    releases himself from that moment.  

 5. Cancellations are another method of modification therapy.  The
    child is asked to pause following a moment of stuttering and then
    say the word again in an easier way.  The cancellation allows the
    frustration and pain of stuttering to be "erased."