Some contributions to the study of childhood stuttering therapeutic process

considerations based on a case

Abstract

Introduction: Stuttering is characterized by interruptions in the flow of speech, such as blockages, prolongations, and/or repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases, commonly identified as atypical disfluencies, often accompanied by other manifestations, such as stuttering anticipatory gestures, negative self-image, tics and/or other bodily manifestations. Objective: to identify the main characteristics that marked the speech of a child who stuttered, reflecting on the moments of fluency and disfluency in the speech therapies, aiming at the study of the therapeutic process. Method: This is a case study with a qualitative approach, based on audio recordings of seven speech-language therapy sessions of a 6-year-old female child (PG), who had stuttered disfluencies and was being treated at a Primary Care Unit. The recordings were transcribed, analyzed and discussed based on the literature. Results: The repetitions were more prevalent; blockages occurred predominantly in plosive phonemes and prolongations, in vowels. Generally, stuttering was intensified when PG was placed in the author’s position and decreased when she did not focus on her speech or her way of speaking, directing her attention to another activity or discursive topic. PG showed a negative relationship with her own speech. The amount of stuttering manifestations decreased throughout the therapeutic sessions. Conclusion: The role of the therapist in the process when dealing with the construction of fluency, self-assurance and the deconstruction of the child’s self-image of a bad speaker expresses the importance of speech therapy in children’s stuttering.