Communication and Learning Disorders
1) Describe your first experience with childhood-onset fluency disorder (Experiences you had with the first person you diagnosed/first time you heard your child had childhood-onset fluency disorder/first time you remember your childhood-onset fluency disorder being a problem).

Childhood-onset fluency disorder is also referred to as stuttering. John was having trouble pronouncing some of his words. While this had begun when he was younger, it had prolonged past the normal speech developmental period. When John was speaking one could see he was anxious and he was less comfortable with his speech. John kept on repeating syllables, prolonging the vocalization of vowels, and consonants, substituting words in order to avoid problematic words, and he would get frustrated when he tried to speak. He also had shortness of breath when he was speaking and this affected his speech. He would find it hard to complete sentences or express himself.

2) How did you have to alter your everyday routine/routine of your child/suggestions you gave your patient and their family to help cope with _________________?

Parents need to understand that the symptoms might come and go. The symptoms might come depending on the task that the child is required to complete. During oral reading, it is likely that the symptoms might not be present (Mash & Wolfe, 2015). However, in casual conversation with another person, the symptoms might be present. Understanding the symptoms trigger is beneficial to the parents, and the child to understand how to cope with the disorder. Supporting John is vital as this will allow him to develop his speech further. The parents should be aware that the disorder might be rectified but there is a need for assistance to be offered to the child. The child might get frustrated as they attempt to speak and the parent should give them time to complete their sentence.

3) What were some of the initial symptoms you noticed/your family noticed that your child/your patient/you may have had with ______________________, or some kind of issue?

The symptoms that John showed were he kept on repeating some sounds and syllables, pausing within words, and sometimes he would have filled or unfilled pauses in his speech. Broken words mostly occurred with words that were hard for him speak out and one could see that he was trying hard to say the word (Palumbo, Mody, Klykylo, McDougle, & Guenther, 2015). When he found it hard to speak out some words, he would opt to omit them from his speech. This was an attempt to evade problematic words. At times he would substitute the problematic words with other words. John would demonstrate physical tension when he tried to speak. Shortness of breath was evident and he would at times try to speak too fast.

4) How did your child/your patients/you act compared to their peers that did not have _____________________?

As compared to other children of his age, John would get anxious and find it difficult to complete his sentences. One can see that he knows what he wants to say, however, he is finding it hard to say it. John was struggling to continue speaking and his speech was not as fluent as compared to that of his peers. The child could also develop a limitation of social participation. Since John is not able to communicate fluently, he does find it hard to make friends or interact with his peers. There is an impact on a child's academic performance. Anxiety is developed when John is requested to speak or to take part in any activity that requires him to effectively communicate.

5) What was used to treat or what was recommended to alleviate some of the effects of your child’s/your patient’s/your ______________________?

A majority of children do outgrow stuttering and this makes it hard to determine if therapy should be used. Sometimes therapy could be an interference and might result in further speech developmental issues (Mash & Wolfe, 2015). For the case of John, therapy was seen as the most appropriate intervention. It was recommended because John had frequent syllable and sound repetitions. The parents were also taught and advised to be speaking to John slowly and to make use of short and simple sentences. This will remove the speaking pressure that John experiences. Joh could also benefit from positive reinforcements for when he speaks without stuttering and negative reinforcements when he does. This is some form of conditioning that will allow him to practice speaking without stuttering.

6) Were non-medication alternatives suggested? Why or why not?

There is no medication alternative for treating childhood-onset...…abilities are not fully developed.

A majority of the symptoms for childhood-onset fluency disorder will develop between the ages of 2 and 7 (Mash & Wolfe, 2015). About 80 percent of the cases will develop by the time the child is 6 years old. Stuttering becomes a disorder when it starts affecting the child and it is persistent over time. When stuttering begins to cause distress then it should be considered a disorder. The symptoms are repeating some sounds and syllables, pausing within words, and sometimes filled or unfilled pauses in the child's speech. The child could also substitute words in order for them to avoid the problematic words.

Treatment for the disorder is mainly via therapy. There are no medications that can be prescribed to the child to assist in curing the disorder. Therapy is aimed at giving the child the confidence they need to be able to speak in front of others. Since the child is finding it hard to speak fluently, they tend to want to speak fast and finish what they have to say. This causes them to stutter and pause while they speak. With therapy, the child can be taught how to slow down their speaking speed to allow them to focus on what they have to say. This way the child will gain confidence and they will not be getting anxious about speaking. Parents are advised to be speaking slowly to the child. This will allow the child to learn how to speak slowly and they can adjust to the parent’s method of speaking. The use of short simple sentences is also recommended. Using simple sentences makes it easy for the child to communicate and learn how to use short sentences in his or her conversation.

With an accommodative school, the child can recover fully and they can gain their speech confidence. All the school need is to ensure that the teachers understand the needs of the child and to know how they can offer assistance to the child. This way the child will develop effective communication skills and they can improve their school work and social conversation. Other children should be encouraged to speak slowly when speaking with the stuttering child. This will encourage the child to slow down his or her speaking speed.

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