Practical Thoughts Blog
Sep 24, 2019
Do I need to use the SSI?
Many clinicians assume that they need to complete frequency counts or severity measures of stuttering, such as the SSI, so that they have a "standardized" assessment. It turns out that the SSI is not the only standardized tool out there!
Aug 21, 2019
Is there an app that can count disfluencies for me?
Counting disfluencies is time-consuming and not terribly reliable. Wouldn't it be nice if this could be done automatically?
Aug 03, 2019
Introduction to Strategies Video
In our first vlog entry, we bring you one of our "Practical Videos" from our training series on using speech strategies. Follow us here or on our YouTube channel for more!
Jul 31, 2019
How do I know if treatment is indicated for a young child who stutters?
Determining whether a young child who stutters needs therapy is complicated by the fact that most children who stutter in the preschool years actually recover on their own. By focusing on key risk factors, we can make evidence-based decisions about when treatment is most likely to be needed.
Jun 10, 2019
How do I help a child who stutters who also has a cognitive impairment?
Helping children who stutter who also exhibit a cognitive impairment presents a unique seat of challenges for speed-language pathologists. Still, there is much that we can do to help.
May 22, 2019
Is it “developmental stuttering” or “normal disfluency” or “true stuttering” or what?!?!?
The terminology used for describing stuttering has long been a source of confusion for speech-language pathologists and parents alike. In this blog post, Dr. Yaruss argues that we should do away with the old terms and adopt some newer, simpler language for describing stuttering.
Apr 24, 2019
How do I score the Stuttering Severity Instrument? (SSI)
Scoring the Stuttering Severity Instrument can sometimes be confusing...do you count just instances of stuttering or all disfluencies? What "counts" as a moment of stuttering, anyway? Read on to find out!
Apr 19, 2019
What treatment approach is best for a preschool child who stutters?
Clinicians are often uncertain about how to choose an appropriate, evidence-based treatment approach for young children who stutter. In this post, Dr. Yaruss encourages clinicians to first consider a child's and family's needs before selecting a specific approach.
Apr 01, 2019
Why don't we write goals about fluency? (Round 2)
Nina Reeves stirred up a bit of a storm during a recent professional development workshop, when she said that speech-language pathologists should not write treatment goals for children who stutter that are based on the frequency or severity of stuttering. Read her post to find out why!
Mar 07, 2019
How do I write IEP goals for preschool children who stutter?
Writing IEP goals for preschool and young school-age children who stutter presents a unique challenge for clinicians, because most of the early therapy is done with and through the parents. Learn how to handle this by writing goals for both less-direct and more-direct aspects of therapy.
Mar 05, 2019
Don’t just tell parents to “wait and see what happens!”
J. Scott Yaruss has a lot of pet peeves. One of them is when speech-language pathologists tell parents of young children who stutter to just "wait and see what happens." Read this blog post to find out why!
Jan 05, 2019
His teacher doesn’t notice, and he doesn’t seem to be bothered!!
We are often asked what to do when a teacher doesn't notice a child's stuttering, or when a child just doesn't seem to be bothered by the stuttering. What are we supposed to do? Nina Reeves offers the guidance that you need to help teachers, students, and parents through these difficult challenges.
