The "Wheel of Stuttering Fortune" is a game modeled after the familiar game show on television. Participants are given a puzzle with one clue (i.e., people, place, devices, etc.) and they spin the wheel to see how much money they might win. Then they guess a letter and if it is in the puzzle, it shows up and the participant gets to guess again. If the letter is not in the puzzle, they lose their turn and it moves onto the next contestant. If they land on 'Bankrupt', the money for this puzzle goes back to the bank. If they land on 'Lose a Turn', they don't get to guess a letter and the turn goes to the next person. The first one to guess the puzzle correctly wins the money they have earned. The game continues for any given time frame. When all consonants have been called, the puzzle must be guessed. The person with the most money gets to play the final round.

This game can be adapted for use with people who stutter (or students in classes on stuttering!). The stimulus puzzles involve different bits and pieces of information taken from the literature on stuttering. 'Stuttering Wheel of Fortune' helps to establish a level of knowledge to understand the disorder. It can easily be adapted for school-age, adolescent, or adult populations.

The wheel can be printed out, glued onto a sturdy board, and laminated. Spinners can be purchased at teacher supply stores or you can create your own spinner by using a large paper clip and a pencil. To create the layout board for the puzzle, you can use letter tiles (also available at a teacher supper store). Place the tiles face down on the board. As each player calls out a letter, turn it over. The following are possible puzzles which may be used in this game. This list is not all inclusive and provides a start for the clinician to add to.

Clue - People:

Lee Edwards Travis; Wendell Johnson; Charles Van Riper; Oliver Bloodstein; Hugo Gregory; Richard Curlee; Gerald Siegel; Dr. Gerald Maguire; Annie Glenn; Roger Ingham; Janice Costello; Gene Brutten; Ann Smith and Ellen Kelly; William Perkins; Marcel Wingate; C.Woodruff Starkweather; Joseph Sheehan, (others based on client age); Board Recognized Fluency Specialist; Bob Love; Edward Conture; James Earl Jones; Postma and Kolk; etc.

Clue - Places:

University of Iowa; University of California at Los Angeles; Northwestern; Minnesota State University, Mankato; American Institute of Stuttering; and Hollins Communications Research Institute.

Clue - Devices:

Delayed Auditory Feedback; Speech Easy Device; Fluency Master; Edinburgh Masker; Frequency Altered Feedback; etc.

Clue - Strategies:

Easy Onsets; Prolonged Speech; Light Articulatory Contacts; Targets; Negative Practice; Hard versus Easy Contrasts; Controlling Speaking Rate; Voluntary Stuttering; Pullouts; Bounces; Cancellations; Preparatory Sets; Cognitive Reframing; Speech Assertiveness; In-block corrections; pre-block corrections; and post-block corrections.

Clue - Components of Stuttering:

Affective; Behavioral; Cognitive; Avoidance; Escape behaviors; Secondary Features; Word Avoidances; Circumlocutions; Revisions, Prolongations, Blocks, Sound Repetitions, Prolongations; Phrase Repetitions; Syllable Repetitions; Anxiety and Fear; Anticipatory Behaviors; and Struggle Behaviors.

Clue - Concepts about stuttering;

Tension-Fragmentation; Genetics of Stuttering; Diagnosgenic Theory; Approach-Avoidance; Iceberg of Stuttering; Reinforcement Principles; Fluency Shaping; Stuttering Modification; Integrated Approaches; Two Factor Theory; Personal Construct Therapy; Teasing and Bullying; Covert Repair Hypothesis; Phonetic Plan; Certificate of Clinical Competence; Dynamic Multifactorial Theory; Support Groups; and Relapse.

Clue - Associations:

American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association; Stuttering Foundation of America; National Stuttering Association; Friends; International Fluency Association; International Cluttering Association; International Stuttering Association; European League of Stuttering Associations; British Stammering Association; and Specialty Board on Fluency and Fluency Disorders.

You can post Questions/comments about the above paper to the author before October 22, 2009.