A Case Study of a Child Showing Cluttering Symptoms with Reduced Frequency of Disfluency

Abstract

A cognitive-behavioral approach centered on speech rate control was used to intervene with a 10-year-old boy with cluttering symptoms. In the cognitive-behavioral approach, instruction focuses first on self-monitoring skills, and then moves on to instruction in speaking with reduced speech rate. After 6 months of intervention, the total frequency of disfluency in the memorized retelling task decreased significantly in this case, and his score on the Japanese Checklist for Possible Cluttering ver. 2 decreased from 21 to 9 points. We assume that the boy's ability to formalize language improved and the frequency of normal disfluency decreased after his realization that simplifying speech makes it easier for the listener to understand what is being said. On the other hand, no decrease in his speed of speech was in evidence in the measured data, a circumstance which needs to be interpreted with caution. The results of this study suggest that the self-monitoring skill instruction included in the cognitive-behavioral approach may have influenced the decrease in frequency of disfluency and contributed to improvement of the symptoms of cluttering; however, in the future we want to investigate for a valid method of measuring speed in speech with cluttering.