In this SIG 4 activity, learners will read three peer-reviewed articles centered on cluttering in preadolescent through adult speakers. The first article is a case study of a preadolescent with cluttering. In this paper, the authors highlight brain development during adolescence, adolescent cognitive and emotional development, and the effects of a therapy approach based on objective speech measures. The second article is a research study concerned with disfluency clusters produced by adults with cluttering in natural conversations. The authors describe how disfluency clusters are affected by the nature of the relationship between speakers. The last article presents qualitative data from a focus group of adults with cluttering who have emerged as community leaders. Their reflections include recommendations for listeners and support groups, self management, and their thoughts on labels and acronyms.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• describe how potential speech, language, cognitive, and emotional characteristics interact in preadolescent cluttering
• summarize the importance of measuring cluttering variables in naturalistic settings and explain how different conversational partners affect speech in people with cluttering
• explain the perspectives of community leaders on how cluttering is uniquely different from stuttering and describe their recommendations for supportive listeners, self-management, and support groups

Assessment Type
Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

Articles in This Course

1. A Conversation With Three Cluttering Community Leaders: A Preliminary Sampling of Perspectives by Sabrina Meza and Kathleen Scaler Scott, published in SIG 4, Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2022
2. Clustering of Disfluencies in Informal Conversations of People With Cluttering by Johanna Pap, published in SIG 4, Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2022
3. An Adolescent Confronted With Cluttering: The Story of Johan by Yvonne van Zaalen and Dario Strangis, published in SIG 4 (from article), Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2022