Stuttering Modification Therapy PDF

Stuttering modification therapy is primarily associated with Charles Van Riper. The goal of stuttering modification therapy is not to eliminate stuttering. Instead, the goals are: Modify your moments of stuttering, so that your stuttering is less severe. Reduce your fear of stutterin...

Stuttering modification therapy is primarily associated with Charles Van Riper. The goal of stuttering modification therapy is not to eliminate stuttering. Instead, the goals are: Modify your moments of stuttering, so that your stuttering is less severe. Reduce your fear of stuttering, and eliminate avoidance behaviors associated with this fear. Four Phases of Stuttering Modification Therapy The therapy has four phases: identification, desensitization, modification, and stabilization. Identification You begin by identifying the core behaviors, secondary behaviors, and feelings and attitudes that characterize your stuttering. Your speech-language pathologist points out your "easy or effortless stuttering." You learn to identify when you do these behaviors. The goal is to improve your awareness of what you do when you stutter. Next, your speech pathologist trains you to identify and become aware of your avoidance behaviors, postponement behaviors, starting behaviors, word and sound fears, situation fears, core stuttering behaviors, and escape behaviors. Finally, you identify feelings of frustration, shame, and hostility associated with your speech. At first, identifying these behaviors is done in the speech clinic. Later, your speech pathologist takes you out of the clinic, to identify what you do in everyday conversations. Desensitization Van Riper called this "toughening the stutterer to his stuttering." You do this in three stages: 1. Confrontation, or accepting that you stutter. You're expected to tell people that you stutter, and talk about what you are doing in therapy to change your stuttering. 2. Freeze your core behaviors—repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. When you stutter, your speech pathologist raises a finger. You hold what you are doing, until she drops her finger. For example, if you were repeating a syllable, you have to continue to repeat that syllable. Your speech pathologist will make you freeze these core behaviors for longer and longer periods. The goal is for you to become less emotional or more tolerant of these behaviors. 3. Voluntary stuttering, or stuttering on purpose. This helps you remain calm when you stutter. U. Zsilavecz/S. Abdoola 2019 Modification This is where you learn "easy stuttering" or "fluent stuttering," in 3 stages: 1. Cancellations. When you stutter, you stop, pause for a few moments, and say the word again. You say the word slowly, with reduced articulatory pressure, and blending the sounds together. 2. Pull-outs. After you master freezing and cancellations, you use your "easy stuttering" while you are in a stutter, to pull yourself out of the stutter and say the word fluently. 3. Preparatory sets. After mastering pull-outs, you look ahead for words you're going to stutter on, and you use "easy stuttering" on those words. Stabilization The last stage of stuttering modification therapy seeks to stabilize or solidify your speech gains. This is accomplished through sub-goals: The first is for you to become your own speech therapist. You take responsibility for making your own assignments and prescribed therapy activities. Another sub-goal is "the automatization of preparatory sets and pull-outs." The last subgoal is for you to change your self-concept from being a person who stutters to being a person who speaks fluently most of the time but who occasionally stutters mildly. U. Zsilavecz/S. Abdoola 2019