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CM**101
Article Review – Clinical Management of Cluttering

Cluttering is one of many fluency disorders and how it comes about is still unknown. Cluttering is basically the combination and repetition of phrases and words that disrupt fluency. It can also be combined with stuttering; another fluency disorder that is more common. A higher amount of research has gone into stuttering and this is one reason why there isn’t much information on cluttering. Although the actual definition of cluttering is widely disputed it is agreed upon that the disorder exists. There is not much information on cluttering and this is why Kenneth St. Louis and Florence Myers put together this article. They want to inform people on what information is known about cluttering. They have taken other research articles and critiqued their information. They have also used their knowledge to further inform the reader of what cluttering is and how it is treated. Cluttering is often thought to accompany cluttering. This does often happen but they are both known to be separate disorders. One can often lead into the other or they can sometimes be present at the same time. Cluttering often follows stuttering because people who stutter begin to clutter when they can’t make smooth transitions. They may also know what they want to say but they don’t know how. People who clutter with usually have trouble in 3 pieces of fluency; rate, articulation, and language. Rate being the speed and rhythm and which someone speaks. Articulation is how well they can use their anatomical structures to produce different speech sounds. Finally, language is related to what they know and how they communicate those ideas or facts. People who clutter also have a very difficult time monitoring their fluency. They often don’t realize that they are not fluent or sometimes they don’t even care. Cluttering therapy is similar to therapy for stuttering. It is also thought to need the help of the family and people who deal with children in different scenarios such as education. In conclusion, there are ways to deal with cluttering and all of the fluency disorders that can accommodate it. Also an increasing amount of clinicians have begun to study and take on the challenge of treating cluttering and this is needed because the tools being used to treat cluttering are the same as they were 25 years ago. I personally have not had any experience with cluttering. In fact, I