Fluency Disorders

Com Dis 723

UW Stevens Point

Fall Semester 2005

 

 

Instructor:  Charlie Osborne

Office:  44A

Phone: (715) 346-4960

E-Mail: cosborne@uwsp.edu  (wk)

                  mosborne@uniontel.net (hm)

 

Class Times: 8:30 – 11:00 am, Friday

Classroom:  CPS 210

 

Required Text:

Manning, W. H. (2001).  Clinical decision making in fluency disorders (2nd Ed.).  San Diego: Singular.

 

Required/Supplemental Readings:  These are posted on the library web under the electronic reserve.  Students may receive technical assistance from the Informational Technology Help Desk, 346-4357.  There are also paper copies available in the Reserve section of the library.

 

Purpose of Textbooks & Reserve Readings:  To provide the student with a solid foundation of information regarding fluency and fluency disorders and to provide the student with information regarding advanced studies in the area of fluency. 

 

Course Objectives:

Students will increase their knowledge and understanding of: fluency; the nature of disfluency; the relationship of disfluency to cognitive and linguistic development; the various disorders of fluency; and the problems that may occur when a person has a fluency disorder.  Fluency disorders and their impact on individuals, across the lifespan, from early childhood to late adulthood, will be examined.

Primary goals and their corresponding ASHA standards for fluency include:

1.        Students will demonstrate knowledge of the definitions associated with stuttering and the other fluency disorders. (III C)

2.        Students will demonstrate knowledge about people who stutter and about family members of people who stutter. (IIIC, IV-G1, IV-G2)

3.        Students will demonstrate familiarity with the theories associated with the disorders of fluency. (IIIC,, IIID)

4.        Students will demonstrate the ability to assess and differentially diagnose fluency disorders in children and adults. (IIIC, IIID, IV-G1, IVG-2)

5.        Students will demonstrate knowledge of the wide variety of therapy techniques that may be used when working with individuals with a fluency disorder. (III-D, IV-G2)

6.        Students will demonstrate the ability to treat fluency disorders in adults

and children. (IV-G2)

 

This course also satisfies the knowledge and/or skills corresponding to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction PI-34 Content Standards 1F, 2I, 3A, 5A-D, 6A-C&E, 9.

 

Expectations

 

For the Instructor:

-           To be thoroughly prepared for class

-           To be punctual

-           To display respect and courtesy to students

-           To provide timely and clear performance criteria for assignments and constructive feedback regarding student performance

 

For the Student:

-           To be thoroughly prepared for class

-           To attend class on a regular basis.  If you are unable to attend class, please notify the instructor and arrange to get class notes and handouts from a fellow student

-           To display respect and courtesy to other students and the instructor

-           To adhere to the established deadlines for assignment due dates

 

 

Course Format:

This course is a hybrid course, combining the traditional classroom venue along with an electronic venue, Desire to Learn (D2L).  If you are not familiar with interacting in an online format, you will be after this semester!  The methods of presenting information will include: lecture, audio and video analysis, group discussion, small group practice and application, therapy demonstration, case study presentation & discussion, and independent study.   

Readings for each week are included following the course agenda.  There are required readings, suggested readings, and group discussion readings.  It is necessary to have read the required readings and those selected for group discussion prior to the scheduled class or scheduled group discussion.  Information from the listed suggested readings, which you are not required to read, are included in the lecture.  Source articles and chapters are available on electronic reserve.

 

D2L Drop Box

All assignments and projects can be placed in the course drop box on D2L.  This implies that most of your work will be completed in an electronic form (there is one exception).  If you are intending to be DPI certified, you are encouraged to save assignments as PDF files or as web pages.  This will enable you to use course assignments as artifacts for your DPI electronic portfolio.

 

Accommodations:

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability.  Accommodations may include a variety of testing modifications, note taker, etc.  Please notify me during the first week of class of any accommodations needed.  All accommodations must be approved through the Office for Students with Disabilities in the Student Services Center.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Tentative Course Agenda

 

An Introduction

Week One                                                 Course overview                                                    

09-09-05                                                                                                 An introduction to D2L

                  Definitions of stuttering

                                                                                          Disorders of fluency

                                                                                          Pseudostuttering – your first assignment

                                                                                                                                               

Week Two                                                Characteristics of the fluency clinician                                                             

09-16-05                                                     Development of stuttering                                                    

                                                                        Characteristics of the person who stutters

                                                                       

                                                                       

Week Three                                             D2L Group Discussion: The characteristics of a fluency clinician 

09-23-05                                                    Theories of stuttering

                                                                        Independent Study Unit Due 9-26-03                                                                            

 

Week Four                                                D2L Group Discussion: Theories

09- 30-05                                                   Assessment and diagnosis: The preschool child (Preoperational)

                                                                        Description of the stuttering problem

                                                                        Transcription practice/data analysis

                                                                       

Week Five                                                 Assessment and diagnosis of fluency disorders:

10-07-05                                                     School age child (Late preoperational - concrete)

                                                                        Assessment activity: Child (completed work due on 10-17-05)

                                                                       

Week Six                                                   Assessment and diagnosis of fluency disorders:

10- 14-05                                                   Adolescents and adults (Formal operations)

                                                                        Online Conference Participation: The Eighth International                                                                                                        Stuttering Awareness Day Online Conference, "Community                                                                                                   Vision for Global Action"

                                                                        http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/stutter.html

                                                                        (Completed work due on 10-24-05)

 

Week Seven                                            Considerations of the management process:

10- 21-05                                                   Stuttering modification/Fluency shaping therapies

                                                                        A primer in General Semantics

                                                                        Coping and the process of change

                                                                        Dean William’s perspective towards                                                                                                                                                            stuttering and its therapy

                                                                        Assessment activity: Adult

                                                                        (Completed work due on 11-07-05)

                                                     

Week Eight                                               Management of the preschool child:

10- 28-05                                                   Working with parents

                                                                        Direct management                                                                

 

Week Nine                                                Management of the preschool child:

11-04-05                                                     Working with parents

                                                                        Direct management

 

Week Ten                                                  Online class only – no Friday class

11-11-05                                                    D2LGroup Discussion: Treatment of the school-age child

 

Week Eleven                                           ASHA Convention - Online class only, no Friday class

11- 18-05                                                   Audio lecture

                                                                        Clinical Decisions with Adolescents Who Stutter (W. Manning)

                                                                        D2L Discussion: Child case study

                 

Week Twelve                                           Thanksgiving holiday

11-25-05                                                    

                                                                       

Week Thirteen                                        Management of the school age child (Concrete stage)

12-02-05                                                    

                                                     

Week Fourteen                                       Management of Adolescents & Adults (Formal operations)

12- 09-05                                                  

                                   

Week Fifteen                                           Management of Adolescents & Adults (Cont.)

12- 16-05                                                   D2L Discussion: A reflective review of CD 723

                                                                         

 

Week Sixteen                                          Final Examination Period, Poster Presentations

Monday, 12-19-05                                 10:15 am-12:15 pm

                                                                                                           

______________________________________________________________________________

                 

Course Readings

                                                     

 

Week One                              Required Readings

                                                      Manning text, Chapter Two, Theories of etiology, pp. 35-46.

Culatta, R. & Goldgerg, S.A. (1995).  Stuttering therapy: An integrated approach to theory and practice. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.  Chapter Two, Different types of disfluency.

                                                     

Week Two                              Required Readings

Manning text, Chapter 1, Clinician characteristics and Chapter 3, Characteristics of stuttering onset and development

Conture, E.  (2001).  Stuttering its nature, diagnosis, and treatment, Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.  Appendix B: Note to a beginning speech-language pathologist.

 

Week Three                         Required Readings

Manning text, Chapter Two, Theories of etiology. Pp. 46-85.

Shapiro, D. (1999).  Stuttering intervention: A collaborative journey to fluency freedom.  Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.  Chapter 3, Etiology and treatment of stuttering: Past and present, (pp. 70-93).

Group Discussion Reading

Manning, W. (2004). How can you understand?  You don’t stutter!  Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, Vol. 31, 58-68.

 

Week Four                             Group Discussion Readings

                                                      Packman, A. & Attanasio, J. (2004).  Theoretical issues in stuttering.  New

York, NY: Psychology Press.  Chapter 11,Theories and treatment and Chapter 12 Final comments.

                                                      Grinager Ambrose, N. (2004). Theoretical perspectives on the cause of                                                                                 stuttering.  Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, Vol.                                                          31, 80-91.

                                                      Required Reading

Manning text, Chapter 3, Characteristics of stuttering onset and development.

Suggested Reading

                                                      Yaruss, J.S., & Quesal, R.W. (2004). Stuttering and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF): An update. Journal of Communication Disorders, 37 (1), 35-52.

 

Week Five                             Required Readings

Manning text, Chapter 5, Assessing fluency disorders in children

Handouts

 

Week Six                                Required Reading

Manning text, Chapter 4, Assessing adolescents and adults.

Handouts

                                                      Online Conference Participation: The Eighth International                                                                                                        Stuttering Awareness Day Online Conference, "Community                                                                                                          Vision for Global Action"

                                                                        http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/stutter.html

 

Week Seven                        Required Reading

Manning text, Chapter 6 & 7, Facilitating the change process, Counseling strategies and techniques

Johnson, W. and Moeller, D. (1972). Living with change:  The semantics of coping.  New York: Harper & Row.  Chapters 4 & 8, Keeping our bearings, Speaking the language of responsibility

Shapiro, D. (1999).  Stuttering intervention: A collaborative journey to fluency freedom.  Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.  Chapter 7,  Stuttering modification and fluency shaping: Psychotherapeutic considerations.

Suggested Readings:

Quesal, R.W. and Yaruss, J.S. (2000). Historical perspectives on stuttering treatment: Dean Williams. Contemporary issues in communication science and disorders, 27, 178-187.

Williams, D. A perspective on approaches to stuttering therapy, In Gregory, H. (1979). Controversies about stuttering therapy.  Baltimore: University Park Press.

Williams, D. (1957).  A point of view about ‘stuttering’.  JSHD, 22, 3, pp.  390-397.

 

Week Eight & Nine          Handouts
                                                      Required Readings       
Manning text, Chapter 9, Treatment for preschool and school-age children

                                                                                 Gottwald, S. and Starkweather, W. (1995). Fluency intervention for

                                                                                 preschoolers and their families in the public schools.  LSHSS, 26, 2, 117-126.

 

Week Ten                              Group Discussion Readings

Dell, C. (1993). Treating school-age stutterers in Stuttering and related disorders of fluency (Curlee, R., Ed.).  New York: Thieme.

Healey, E. C. and Scott, L. (1995). Strategies for treating elementary school-age children who stutter:  An integrative approach.  LSHSS, 26, 2, 151-161.

Guitar, B. (1998).  Stuttering: An integrated approach to its nature and treatment.  Baltimore, MD: William & Wilkins.  Chapters 10, Intermediate stutterer: Stuttering modification and fluency shaping therapies, and Chapter 11, Intermediate stutterer: Integration of approaches.

                                                      Suggested Reading

Ingham, R. and Riley, G. (1998). Guidelines for the documentation of
treatment efficacy for young children who stutter.  JSLHR, 41, 4, 753-77
 
Week Eleven                       No readings assigned

 

Week Twelve                      Thanksgiving Holiday

 

Week Thirteen                   Handouts

 

Week Fourteen                  Assigned readings

                                                      Manning text Chapter 8, Treatment for adolescents and adults and Chapter 10, Indicators of progress during treatment

                                                      Handouts

 

Week Fifteen                       Assigned readings

                                                      Handouts

 

 

 

Online Group Discussion Assignments

 

You are expected to participate in five small group discussions on D2L throughout the semester.  I have randomly assigned each of you to a group of five students.  I have also provided source articles for discussions and questions that your group needs to address.  Each group member is expected to participate in each discussion a minimum of two times.  One member of the group has been assigned to be the group leader for each of the discussions.  Her role is to: conduct/moderate her group’s responses to the questions, to insure that each group member has participated, and to submit a summary of her group’s responses to the class as a whole (see the discussion section on D2L).   

Discussions will include:

 

The characteristics of a fluency clinician

Theories of stuttering

Case Study: A child with a stuttering problem

Stuttering management with school age children

A reflective review of the course

 

These discussions are set up to occur outside of the traditional classroom setting.  Because the class only meets once per week, you should have ample opportunities to participate throughout the week.  Discussion topics and questions will be available in the D2L discussion section the day of class.  It is recommended that group participants finish their participation by Wednesday evening of the week the discussion is scheduled.  Summative comments by the group leader are due by the time of class on Friday.

 

Assessment of online discussions will be based on completion of the assignment and evaluated based on the following rubric.  This rubric is intended to demonstrate different levels of achievement as well as to spotlight the criteria used for evaluation.  The rubric is not directly convertible to points; however, the more a student’s work falls in the exemplary column, the higher the grade will be; and the converse is also true.

 

Criterion

Exemplary

Acceptable

Undeveloped

Insightfulness

Posting demonstrates thorough understanding of the topic, incorporates knowledge from readings and lectures

Posting shows some understanding of topic though perhaps imperfect or superficial at times

Posting demonstrates lack of understanding or predominate superficiality

Organization

Posting contains a logical progression of ideas with good transitions between points

Posting contains logical progression of ideas; may have some rough transitions

Posting jumps from idea to idea without clear purpose or direction

Clarity of Communication

Posting reflects consistently thoughtful word choices with clearly worded sentences and paragraphs

Posting may have infrequent lapses in word choice or clarity of meaning

Numerous poorly-chosen words or improper use of terms that obscure meaning

Writing Mechanics

Grammar and punctuation uniformly conform to standards of scholarly writing

Occasional grammar and/or punctuation errors

Numerous grammar and/or punctuation errors

 

 

 

 

Online Conference Participation:

 

The Eighth International Stuttering Awareness Day Online Conference, "Community Vision for Global Action"

                                                                        http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/stutter.html

 

This online conference is live October first through October 22nd, 2005.  Please read at least five different papers that are posted for the conference.  You are required to participate, by including an online response in one of the presentations that you are attending.  You are also required to write a paragraph outlining the nature and content of each of the articles you’ve read or participated in, along with another paragraph that includes your reaction to the presentation and any insights you gained. 

 

 

 

Independent Study Units

 

You are required to complete three individual independent study units.  They are:

 

 1.  Stuttering in Public

 

You are required to stutter in a public settingactually, 3 different public venues.  The purpose of this unit is to give you a sense for what it may feel like to be a person who stutters (and perhaps develop a better understanding of what your clients who stutter experience daily).  Of course, as you’re completing this assignment, remember that you have the option to stutter or to not stutter.  The person who stutters doesn’t have that option in all speaking situations. This unit will include the following steps:

 

1) You are encouraged to practice stuttering with a friend or classmate prior to actually stuttering in public.  Try to make your stuttering behaviors representative of real stuttering and try to develop a level of comfort when you pseudostutter.

 

2) You need to stutter in three different settings.  These may include, but are not limited to -–placing an order at a restaurant, asking for information on the telephone, asking for directions at the mall or on campus, ordering pizza on the phone, buying clothes, etc.  Only one experience can occur on the phone.  The other two must be face-to-face.

 

3) You need to write a reaction paper to each experience.  Questions to address include the following: What was the reaction of the person(s) you were talking to? How did you feel as a communicator? Do you feel like doing this activity again?  

 

The length of this assignment should be at least three double-spaced pages.

Suggested Reading:

Van Riper, C. (1971) The self-concepts of stutterers.  In The nature of stuttering.  Englewood Cliffs:  Prentice-Hall.

This unit is due on September 26, 2005.

 

2.  Stuttering Assessment Project: Child

 

You will be provided an audio and/or video taped sample of a child who stutters.  This will be available to you on D2L and you will need to have RealPlayer to run the sample.  If you do not have RealPlayer, it is available at no charge on the web.  You will be expected to analyze the sample regarding speech and language parameters.  Further detailed information will be provided to you at the time of this assignment regarding the analyses you’re expected to perform.  Your completed work will be due on October 17, 2005.  You will be asked to turn in all of your rough paper work on paper, along with your completed final analysis electronically in the D2L drop box.

 

 3.  Stuttering Assessment Project: Adult

 

You will be provided an audio and/or video taped sample of an adult who stutters.  This will be available to you on D2L and you will need to have RealPlayer to run the sample.  If you do not have RealPlayer, it is available at no charge on the web.  You will be expected to analyze the sample regarding speech and language parameters.  Further detailed information will be provided to you at the time of this assignment regarding the analyses you’re expected to perform.  Your completed work will be due on November 07, 2005.  You will be asked to turn in all of your rough paper work on paper, along with your completed final analysis electronically in the D2L drop box.

 

 

 

 

 

Poster Session:

 

Critical Review of a Contemporary Therapy Approach/Program

 

You will need to pair with another student to complete this assignment.  You are required to illustrate, discuss and critically review a contemporary therapy approach or method via a poster presentation.  You will be expected to present your poster to each other and invited students, faculty and staff on December 19, 2005 during the scheduled class period.  Some of the possible contemporary approaches you may choose from can be found at the web sites indicated below.  There are also a wide variety of approaches available for you to choose from in the literature found in the LRC or from commercial programs to be found in the CMC.  The instructor must approve your topic. In addition to an explanation of the approach/method, you will need to address the following questions:   

 

-           How would this approach be classified (fluency shaping, stuttering modification, or integrated)? Why?

-           What is/are the underlying theoretical rationale(s)?

-           What is the style of presentation (intensive, 2x per week, etc.)?

-           How is success defined and measured?

-           How is generalization and maintenance addressed?

-           Is there any data regarding the program’s success rate?

-           What do you see as the program’s strong points? Weak points?

-           Would you recommend using this approach?  Why?  Why not?

Web Sites

                  The Stuttering Home Page

                  http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/stutter.html

                  The Stuttering Foundation

                  http://www.stuttersfa.org/

                  Here is a website that provides information regarding what a poster is, how it should look, etc.         http://www.lcsc.edu/ss150/poster.htm

 

 

Scoring Rubric for Poster Presentations

 

1.                      Construction of the Poster

 

The poster caught my attention.                                                                                                        Yes                                                                       No

I was eager to read the poster.                                                                                                          Yes                                                                       No

The information was organized.                                                                                                       Yes                                                                       No

The text was easy to read.                                                                                            Yes                                                                       No

Comments:

2.                      Content                                                                                                                

Enough content was displayed.                                                                                                        Yes                                                                       No                                                                        

Important aspects of the program were highlighted.                                                  Yes                                                                       No

Application to the treatment of stuttering was evident.                                              Yes                                                                       No

Strengths and weaknesses of the program were presented.                          Yes                                                                       No

Comments:

3.                      Presenter Aspects

The presenters asked if I had any questions.                                         Yes                                                                       No

The presenters answered my questions.                                                                              Yes                                                                       No

The presenters conveyed a professional demeanor.                                                Yes                                                                       No

 Comments:

 

 

(Adapted from L. Plonsker’s CD 784, 2002.)

 

 

 

 

Assessment – (The point assignments for each task):

 

You will be assessed on your performance in the following tasks:

 

Independent Study Projects:

Stuttering in public                                                                   100 points

Child Stuttering Behaviors Assessment                       100 points

Adult Stuttering Behaviors Assessment      100 points

Online Conference Participation                                       50 points

Online Group Discussion Participation

                  Group participation (10 points ea. Discussion)         50 points

                  Group Leader                                                                              50 points

Poster Presentation                                                                                   50   points

 

Total Points                                                                                                    500 points

 

 

Grading:

The final course grade will be determined by a percentage of total possible points:

Letter Grade      Percentage                          

                  A               96-100%                                                    

                  A-             91-95%                                                      

                  B+            88-90%                                                      

                  B               84-88%                                                      

                  B-             81-83%                                                      

                  C+           78-80%                                                                                          

                  C              74-77%

 

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.      -- Will Durant