I’d like advice on this case:  I work in a school. A  student I inherited on my caseload has a diagnosis of stuttering. He is 9 years old, in a SDC for children with mild-moderate disabilities. His psych testing revealed normal cognitive function, but with ADHD which significantly impairs his ability to learn. He has no articulation problems, and language tested average to above average. At the end of the last school year the previous therapist reported an SSI score in the moderate range but did not describe the stuttering behavior in his assessment report. The IEP reflects a goal of using “strategies” to reduce stuttering occurrences.

What I Would Do:

First Session: Observations

• Take baseline data in a natural environment if possible or if not, in the speech room during as natural of an activity as you can do
• Record information about number of stutters per X number of minutes and what types of stutters
• Record if the student spontaneously uses any strategies to overcome stutters

Next Session: Find Out What He Knows

• Ask him about his stuttering: what kinds does he do, how does it affect his daily communication, how does he feel about it, etc.
• Ask him what type of therapy he’s done in the past
• Ask him what types of strategies he’s learned in past therapy
• Ask him to demonstrate those strategies
• Ask him if he uses those strategies in normal conversation (why or why not)

Future Sessions: Practice Strategies

• Continue working on successful strategies from past sessions or troubleshoot why some aren’t working or why he won’t use them
• Teach new strategies that may be helpful
• Provide visual aids and memory techniques to help the child remember to use the strategies
• Continue to track number of disfluencies per X number of minutes to see if the use of strategies is improving fluency