Understanding Fluency Disorders

A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking, which can manifest as atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies such as repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases; sound prolongations; and blocks. Individuals with fluency disorders may also exhibit excessive tension, speaking avoidance, struggle behaviors, and secondary mannerisms. It is not uncommon for those affected to experience psychological, emotional, social, and functional impacts due to their communication disorder. Two of the most common types of fluency disorders are stuttering and cluttering. Effective fluency disorder treatment often involves speech therapy, which can help individuals manage and improve their communication challenges.