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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders pp 1–3Cite as

Fluency and Fluency Disorders

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Synonyms

Cluttering; Disfluency; Dysfluency; Nonfluency; Stammering; Stuttering

Definition

Fluency is the aspect of speech production that refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA] n.d.). Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder. Stuttering is an interruption in the forward flow of speech and is characterized by repetitions (sounds, syllables, words, phrases), sound prolongations, blocks, interjections, and revisions, which may affect the rate and rhythm of speech. These disfluencies may be accompanied by physical tension, negative reactions, secondary behaviors, and avoidance of sounds, words, or speaking situations (ASHA 1993; Yaruss 2007).

Incidence and Prevalence

The lifetime incidence of stuttering is approximately 5% or higher (Mansson 2000; Yairi and Ambrose 2013). Among children, the incidence reaches a rate of 8.5% by 3 years and 11% by 4 years (Reilly et al. 2013). Stuttering is more common among males than...

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References and Readings

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1993). Definitions of communication disorders and variations. Retrieved from www.asha.org/policy

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Fluency disorders in childhood (Practice portal). Available from www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Childhood-Fluency-Disorders

  • Craig, A., Hancock, K., Tran, Y., Craig, M., & Peters, K. (2002). Epidemiology of stuttering in the community across the entire life span. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 1097–1105.

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  • Mansson, H. (2000). Childhood stuttering: Incidence and development. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 25, 47–57.

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  • Paul, R., Shriberg, L. D., McSweeny, J., Cicchetti, D., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (2005). Brief report: Relations between prosody performance and communication and socialization ratings in high functioning speakers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 861–869.

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  • Scaler Scott, K. (2011). Cluttering and autism spectrum disorders. In D. Ward & K. Scaler Scott (Eds.), Cluttering: Research, intervention and education (pp. 115–134). East Sussex: Psychology Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #350, 20850–3289, Rockville, MD, USA

    Diane Paul

Authors
  1. Diane Paul
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diane Paul .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Paul, D. (2017). Fluency and Fluency Disorders. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1931-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1931-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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