Biomedical subjects

J Scott Yaruss

Publications and source records attributed to J Scott Yaruss.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES): documenting multiple outcomes in stuttering treatment.

UNLABELLED: This paper describes a new instrument for evaluating the experience of the stuttering disorder from the perspective of individuals who stutter. Based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health [World Health Organization (2001). The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, & Health. Geneva: World Health Organization], the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES) collects information about the totality of the stuttering disorder, including: (a) general perspectives about stuttering, (b) affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions to stuttering, (c) functional communication difficulties, and (d) impact of stuttering on the speaker's quality of life. This paper summarizes scale development, reliability and validity assessment, and scoring procedures so clinicians and researchers can use the OASES to add to the available evidence about the outcomes of a variety of treatment approaches for adults who stutter. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: As a result of this activity, participants will be able to: (1) identify key issues related to the documentation of treatment outcomes in stuttering; (2) discuss the components of the international classification of functioning, disability, and health as they relate to the documentation of stuttering treatment outcomes; (3) evaluate and use a new measurement instrument for assessing the outcomes of stuttering treatment from the perspective of the person who stutters.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Treating preschool children who stutter: description and preliminary evaluation of a family-focused treatment approach.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to present a detailed description of a family-focused treatment for preschool children who stutter that addresses communication behaviors and attitudinal reactions that children and their parents may exhibit in reaction to stuttering, as well as a preliminary evaluation of the outcomes of that treatment. METHOD: The study involved assessment of the children's speech fluency and a client satisfaction questionnaire that sought parents' opinions about which aspects of the treatment were beneficial. Participants were 17 children who stutter, ages 31 to 62 months, and their families. RESULTS: Responses to the questionnaire indicated that treatment helped families learn about stuttering and about strategies that facilitate children's fluency. Evaluation of the children's fluency revealed that all participants achieved improved fluency at the conclusion of treatment and at long-term follow-up. IMPLICATIONS: Findings suggest that this treatment approach may be useful for helping children achieve improved speech fluency, effective communication skills, and healthy communication attitudes.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2003

One size does not fit all: special topics in stuttering therapy.

One of the greatest challenges facing clinicians working with school-age children who stutter is the fact that there are such vast differences between and among children who stutter. These differences are seen not only in the speech behaviors children may exhibit, but also in children's experiences with stuttering and in their reactions to those experiences. This article introduces the second of two issues of Seminars in Speech and Language that focuses on school-age children who stutter. The first volume addressed general issues in treatment, and this second volume is aimed at helping clinicians face the challenges posed by the differences in children who stutter. Specific topics include identifying resources designed to meet the needs of different children, tailoring treatment programs to children with specific needs (e.g., other cultural backgrounds, concomitant disorders), helping children face obstacles to achieving success outside the therapy room, and helping clinicians develop partnerships with family and teachers.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Fostering generalization and maintenance in school settings.

One of the most challenging aspects of therapy for school-age children who stutter is generalizing the skills learned in the therapy room to other settings such as the classroom, lunchroom, playground, or home. An additional challenge is seen in maintaining gains over the long term. This article reviews common roadblocks to generalization and maintenance, including the goals of therapy, the nature of the treatment strategies that require generalization, the scheduling and implementation of generalization activities within the overall therapy process, and the child's understanding of the treatment goals. Specific strategies for overcoming these roadblocks include: desensitizing children to both stuttering and treatment strategies designed to improve fluency, using hierarchies as a way of structuring treatment and moving children toward success in their daily activities, integrating the child's real world and clinical settings, and using structured practice activities to help children solidify all of the lessons they learn in treatment. This article highlights the importance of taking a broad-based view of stuttering to help children improve their overall communication across a variety of settings and over time.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Success in the schools: bringing it all together.

Children who stutter can successfully be treated in the schools. This has been the overriding message of the articles in this two-part series in Seminars in Speech and Language, which focuses on school-age children who stutter. This summary article reviews several of the key themes presented in the articles in this series and highlights the importance of taking a broad-based view of the disorder in working with children who stutter. The article ends with a series of reminders for clinicians to consider that will help school-age children who stutter achieve optimal success in treatment.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Academic and clinical education in fluency disorders: an update.

UNLABELLED: This paper presents a survey of the academic and clinical education in fluency disorders provided by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-accredited training programs. Respondents were 159 programs (out of 256, return rate = 67.4%) that completed a questionnaire seeking information about the courses and clinical experiences they require, the expertise of their faculty and supervisors, changes following the 1993 modification of training requirements for the ASHA certificate of clinical competence (CCC), and preliminary plans for changes in preparation for the 2005 standards. Results, which supplement findings from an earlier survey distributed in 1997 (Yaruss, 1999), indicated that nearly one-quarter of programs allow students to graduate without coursework in fluency disorders, and nearly two-thirds allow students to graduate without clinical practicum experiences. Findings suggest a trend toward fewer required classes taught by less experienced faculty, fewer clinical hours guided by less experienced supervisors, and a greater likelihood that students will graduate without any academic or clinical education in fluency disorders. Given the repeated finding that many speech-language pathologists are uncomfortable working with people who stutter, as well as ASHA's apparent de-emphasis of fluency disorders within the increasing scope of practice in the field of speech-language pathology, these results are a cause for concern about the future of fluency disorders. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about (1) the coursework and clinical practicum experiences that are currently required for students in ASHA-accredited training programs; (2) trends indicating a reduction in training requirements for fluency disorders; and (3) ways of improving these requirements.

Education↗

PubMed2002

Evaluating rate, accuracy, and fluency of young children's diadochokinetic productions: a preliminary investigation.

UNLABELLED: Diadochokinetic (DDK) rates are commonly assessed in children with speech-language disorders, even though the implications of fast or slow DDK rates are not clear. This study explored the possibility that the accuracy and fluency of DDK productions may provide a meaningful supplement to traditional measures of DDK rate. Participants were 15 boys, age 3-7, with normal speech-language development, who were asked to produce "puh-tuh-kuh" or "pattycake" in a standard DDK task. Analyses revealed that normally developing children produce frequent articulation errors but few disfluencies during DDK tasks. Errors and disfluencies did not affect DDK rate, suggesting that the rate of DDKs may be a relatively insensitive measure of children's speaking abilities. Although an expected correlation was found between age and overall DDK rate, no correlations were found between age and the frequency of articulation errors or speech disfluencies. Findings suggest that measures of DDK accuracy and fluency may provide information about children's speech development that is independent of age and may be more closely related to oral motor development than rate. Overall, results underscore concerns with the interpretation of DDK rate and highlight ways that rate measures might be supplemented with measurement of accuracy and fluency in the evaluation of children's speaking abilities. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about a technique that may facilitate the evaluation of young children's oral DDK abilities. The reader will learn about the frequency and type of errors children produce on DDKs and how this information can be used in the assessment of children's oral motor abilities.

Apraxias↗

PubMed2002

Speech treatment and support group experiences of people who participate in the National Stuttering Association.

UNLABELLED: Support groups are rapidly becoming an important part of the recovery process for many people who stutter, and a growing number of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are encouraging their clients to participate in support groups. At present, however, little is known about the individuals who join stuttering support groups and the benefits they derive from their participation. This study surveyed members of the National Stuttering Association (NSA) to learn about their experiences in support groups, as well as their experiences in speech therapy. Respondents were 71 people who attended the 1999 NSA conference in Tacoma, WA. The majority of respondents had participated in treatment several times during their lives, using a variety of techniques. Respondents who had participated in fluency-shaping treatments were more likely to report that they had experienced a relapse than those who had participated in stuttering modification or combined treatments. Also, there was a strong positive correlation between respondents' satisfaction with treatment and their judgments of clinicians' competence, suggesting that improved training for SLPs should lead to improved treatment for people who stutter. Results will be used to provide a foundation for further evaluations of the benefits of support group participation for people who stutter. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn (a) that many people who participate in the NSA have had numerous and varied experiences with speech treatment throughout their lives, (b) which aspects of treatment and support group participation are seen as most beneficial for people who participate in the NSA.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

National Stuttering Association members' opinions about stuttering treatment.

UNLABELLED: As stuttering support groups, such as the National Stuttering Association (NSA), have gained prominence and visibility, it has become increasingly important for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to learn about the people who participate in such groups. This article presents results of a brief survey completed by 200 members of the NSA to examine the opinions of support group members regarding the field of speech-language pathology and stuttering treatment options. Results indicate that NSA members hold a variety of opinions, both positive and negative, about the resources available to them. Findings highlight a number of ways in which SLPs can work with stuttering support groups, both to learn more about the needs of people who stutter and also to provide needed information about treatment options that are available for people who stutter. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will learn about and be able to describe (1) the role of support groups in stuttering treatment; (2) the people who are members of the NSA; and (3) their opinions about various issues related to stuttering and its treatment.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2002

Facing the challenge of treating stuttering in the schools.

There are many difficult issues facing speech-language pathologists who work with school-age children who stutter; however, the challenges are not insurmountable. Effective treatment for children who stutter is possible, even in school settings. This chapter introduces two issues of Seminars in Speech and Language aimed at helping clinicians improve their treatment of stuttering in school-age children. The first issue addresses basic aspects of evaluation and treatment, including procedures for assessing children's communication abilities, developing appropriate goals for therapy, and utilizing a number of specific treatment strategies. The second issue addresses special topics in the treatment of school-age children who stutter, including multicultural factors, concomitant disorders, and finding and using helpful resources to enhance treatment. Throughout the two issues, the authors will repeatedly emphasize that clinicians can help children who stutter become more successful communicators by drawing upon knowledge and strategies from a variety of perspectives and by taking a broad-based, comprehensive approach to understanding and treating stuttering.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Successful communication for children who stutter: finding the balance.

For many school-age children, stuttering consists of more than just speech disfluencies, physical tension, and struggle. Therefore, successful therapy for stuttering should address more than just these observable characteristics. In addition to working on fluency goals, clinicians can help children (as well as the people in the child's environment) reduce negative reactions to stuttering and increase their tolerance and acceptance of their speaking abilities. By treating the entire stuttering disorder in this way, clinicians can help children reduce barriers to successful communication and improve their overall communication skills. When children develop a balance between increased fluency and healthy communication attitudes, they have the greatest opportunity for becoming successful communicators who can speak freely and with confidence in any situation they face.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Stuttering and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: an update.

UNLABELLED: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently presented a multidimensional classification scheme for describing health status and the experience of disablement. This new framework, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001), is a revision of WHO's prior framework for describing the consequences of disorders, the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH; WHO, 1980). In previous papers, Yaruss had shown how the original ICIDH could be adapted to describe the consequences of stuttering at several levels that are relevant to the communication and life experiences of the person who stutters. The current manuscript presents an update of the Yaruss (1998) model that accounts for the new structure of the ICF. A comparison of the WHO's ICIDH and ICF frameworks is presented, followed by an analysis of how the ICF can be adapted to describe the speaker's experience of the stuttering disorder. Emphasis is placed on the fact that stuttering involves more than just observable behaviors. Specifically, the speaker's experience of stuttering can involve negative affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions (both from the speaker and the environment), as well as significant limitations in the speaker's ability to participate in daily activities and a negative impact on the speaker's overall quality of life. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of reading this manuscript, participants, willgain an understanding of the updates to the World Health Organization's original International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps that are seen in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health understand how the ICF can be applied to the study of stuttering recognize that health conditions such as stuttering are affected by both internal and external factors, and can involve more than just observable behaviors that are seen on the surface.

Disability Evaluation↗