SLP Fluency Disorders & Stuttering 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A school-age child uses eye blinking and head jerking when stuttering. These behaviors are classified as:
- Secondary (associated) behaviors (Correct answer)
- Primary stuttering behaviors
- Escape behaviors only
- Avoidance behaviors only
Correct answer: Secondary (associated) behaviors
Eye blinking, head jerking, and similar physical movements that co-occur with stuttering are classified as secondary or associated behaviors.
Question 2: Which statement about the natural recovery rate for stuttering in preschool-age children is most accurate?
- Approximately 75-80% of children who begin stuttering recover naturally without intervention (Correct answer)
- Approximately 30-40% of children who begin stuttering recover without intervention
- Nearly all children who begin stuttering before age 3 recover spontaneously
- Natural recovery is equally likely across all ages of onset
Correct answer: Approximately 75-80% of children who begin stuttering recover naturally without intervention
Research indicates that approximately 75-80% of preschool children who begin stuttering will recover naturally, often without formal treatment.
Question 3: When using Easy Onset as a stuttering modification technique, the client is taught to:
- Begin phonation gradually with light articulatory contacts on the initial sound (Correct answer)
- Pause at the moment of stuttering and restart the word
- Prolong the initial vowel for 2 seconds before continuing
- Breathe abdominally before each utterance
Correct answer: Begin phonation gradually with light articulatory contacts on the initial sound
Easy Onset involves initiating airflow and voicing gently before articulation begins, reducing tension on the first sound of an utterance.
Question 4: Neurogenic acquired stuttering most commonly results from lesions in which brain region?
- Basal ganglia and thalamus (Correct answer)
- Cerebellum and brainstem
- Occipital lobe and parietal association cortex
- Temporal lobe only
Correct answer: Basal ganglia and thalamus
Neurogenic acquired stuttering most frequently follows lesions to the basal ganglia, thalamus, or their connections, disrupting motor speech timing.
Question 5: The Transfer phase of stuttering treatment refers to:
- Generalizing fluency skills or stuttering modification techniques to real-world speaking situations (Correct answer)
- Moving from individual therapy to group therapy format
- Teaching the client to identify stuttering in others before self-monitoring
- Shifting from fluency shaping to stuttering modification approach
Correct answer: Generalizing fluency skills or stuttering modification techniques to real-world speaking situations
Transfer involves systematically applying the skills learned in the clinic to progressively challenging real-life communication situations.
Question 6: Which risk factor most significantly predicts that a child's stuttering will PERSIST rather than resolve naturally?
- Male sex with a family history of persistent stuttering (Correct answer)
- Late age of onset (after age 5)
- Presence of phonological disorder only
- High socioeconomic status with bilingual exposure
Correct answer: Male sex with a family history of persistent stuttering
Male sex combined with a positive family history of persistent stuttering is among the strongest predictors that stuttering will not resolve naturally.
Question 7: Pseudostuttering (voluntary stuttering) is used therapeutically to help clients:
- Reduce fear and avoidance by desensitizing them to the act of stuttering (Correct answer)
- Practice fluency techniques in controlled conditions
- Identify which phonemes trigger the most severe stuttering
- Demonstrate stuttering to communication partners for education purposes only
Correct answer: Reduce fear and avoidance by desensitizing them to the act of stuttering
Voluntary stuttering desensitizes the client to the feared act of stuttering itself, reducing avoidance and helping them approach rather than escape disfluency.
SLP Fluency Disorders & Stuttering 3
A school-age child uses eye blinking and head jerking when stuttering.
These behaviors are classified as: