Fluency Shaping Techniques

Fluency shaping techniques refer to speech techniques that attempt to increase a client’s smooth, forward flow of speech and reduce disruptions in their fluency.

• Stuttering and other fluency disorders - A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies (e.g., repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases; sound prolongations; and blocks), which may also be accompanied by excessive tension, speaking avoidance, struggle behaviors, and secondary mannerisms (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 1993). People with fluency disorders also frequently experience psychological, emotional, social, and functional impacts as a result of their communication disorder (Tichenor & Yaruss, 2019a). Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder.

• Isaac will use 1 learned fluency shaping strategy (e.g., slowed speech), within a 5-minute timed reading task with 80% accuracy across 3 out of 5 sessions. 1
• Tyler will use 2 fluency shaping strategies (i.e., relaxed breathing, slowed speech) during a timed structured treatment task with 80% accuracy across 3 out of 5 sessions. 0
• Miquel will learn and practice fluency control strategy of slowed rate, progressing from word level responses to phoneme level responses independently with 90% accuracy over 3 consecutive sessions to improve speech fluency. 2
• Given minimal cues, Rosalia will use slowed rate and easy onset speech to reduce dysfluencies and increase intelligibility at the conversational level with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive sessions as measured by data and observation to improve fluency. 3
• Courtney will use fluency strategies, including easy onset and slowed rate, speaking on exhalation, pausing, pull-outs, and cancellations, for producing self-created syllables, advancing to spontaneous syllable, with 90% accuracy (less than 90% disfluency) across 3 consecutive sessions to improve speech fluency. 3

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  Story and Conversation Starters

  Jessica Lenden-Holt

  Story Starter photos for sentence or conversational level goals. Can be modified to target articulation, language or fluency.

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  Kiki Celebrates Spring

  Bailey Morgan, M.A., CCC-SLP

  Kiki Celebrates Spring. Short story with spring vocabulary, can be used by itself or with one of the Spring resources (i.e. making strawberry shortcake activity, bee pattern tracing...)

  Includes activity list

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  Werewolf Willie Loves Valentine's Day Fill-In Story

  Patrick Ijima-Washburn

  A funny illustrated fill-in story about Willie the Werewolf where kids are asked to fill in specific kinds of words (parts of speech, pieces of clothing, etc.). Includes the original story with 'w'...

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  Story Dice For Language Building and Writing Prompts, Wh- Question Dice

  Jessica Lenden-Holt

  Story dice are a fun way to elicit speech, language and writing samples and to target goals in therapy or in centers! Dice include engaging images for writing prompts and conversational starters. T...

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