Identifying and Treating Cluttering:

Effective Strategies Clinicians

Need To Know
David A. Daly, Ed.D.
Dalys Speech & Language Center
Farmington, Michigan
dadaly@umich.edu
Miniseminar 2007 ASHA Conference
Boston, Massachusetts

Percentages for Four Subgroups of Fluency Clients

(Daly, 2007)

Pure
Clutterer- Stutterer with
Pure
Clutterer Stutterer Concomitant
Stutterer
Problems
Articulation
Language
Disabilities
Motor
Coordination
ADHD/ADD
Hearing Loss
Speech Dyspraxia
2%
33%
32%
33%

Comparisons between Fluency Experts Top 15

Rankings and Ratings
Description of Selected Items

Rankings

Ratings

Lack of effective self-monitoring skills (#27)

90%

Lack of awareness of communication errors

or problems (# 44)

83%

Telescopes or condenses words (omits,

transposes sounds & syllables) (#8)

93%

Imprecise articulation (distorts speech sounds) (#7)

82%

Irregular speech rate; speaks in spurts (#11)

82%

Rapid rate (tachylalia) with intact articulation (#9) *

60%

Interjections; revisions; many filler words (#2)

80%

Compulsive talker; verbose or tangential;

circumlocutions are common (#3)

80%

Poor language formulation; storytelling difficulty;

trouble sequencing (#16)

70%

Repetition of multi-syllabic words or phrases (#1)

10

60%

Lack of pauses between words; run-on sentences (#4)

11

83%

Little or no excessive effort observed

during disfluencies (#12)

12

74%

Speech better under pressure;

improved when concentrating (#45)

13

72%

Little inhibition, hesitancy,

or anxiety about speech (#39)

14

68%

Disorganized language increases as topic

becomes more complex (#18)

15

68%

SUGGESTIONS FOR SCORING

CLUTTERING INVENTORY
Cluttering is difficult to diagnose. Until data becomes
available on a larger number of clients we recommend that
scores of 120+ should be classified as CLUTTERER.
Score between 80 120 are indicative of a CLUTTERERSTUTTERER. 1/3 of stutterers show such signs.
At this time, we suggest that the number and severity of
various symptoms of cluttering may be more accurate
predictors of cluttering than any one score.

Dalys Dozen Indicators of Cluttering

1. Poor awareness & poor self-monitoring skills
2. Telescopes or condenses words
3. Rapid rate with poor intelligibility
4. Lack of pauses between words; run-on sentences
5. Imprecise articulation (distorts & omits sounds)
6. Irregular speech rate; speaks in spurts
7. Interjections; revisions; many filler words
8. Compulsive talker; many circumlocutions
9. Disorganized language; trouble sequencing
10. Repetitions of multi-syllabic words & phrases
11. No excessive effort during disfluencies
12. Speech better under pressure

Eight (8) Additional Indicators Believed to be

Significant for Identifying Possible Clutterers
13. Word-finding difficulty
14. Initial loud voice; trails off to a murmur
15. Respiratory dysrhythmia; poor breath support
16. Inappropriate turn-taking; frequently interrupts
17. Oral reading & writing problems (omits, adds,
and transposes letters, syllables, and words)
18. Clumsy & uncoordinated; impulsive motorically
19. Little inhibition or anxiety about speech
20. Signs of ADD and/or hyperactivity

*The Items on these two pages constitute Dalys (2007)

Top 20 of the 33-Items for Identifying Cluttering

REFERENCES
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