Assessment and treatment for the Spanish-English bilingual client who stutters : a clinician's guide

In the United States, there is a growing prevalence of individuals who use two or more languages in their everyday lives. A small number of those bilingual individuals may present with stuttering, a disorder of speech fluency characterized by various speech and non-speech behaviors that interfere with the forward flow of speech. Although there is a large body of research in bilingualism, there is limited literature on stuttering in bilingual speakers. Furthermore, recent resources for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) lack the latest information about assessing and treating bilingual clients who stutter. My goal is to create a clinical handbook which incorporates the most current research to provide appropriate assessment and treatment guidelines for Spanish-English (SE) clients, as it is the fastest growing population in the U.S., takes into account cultural considerations and offers activities for SLPs and graduate students seeking to complete their master's degree in this field. This handbook will include research and techniques on how to implement the Lidcombe program along with the demands capacity theory for pre-school bilingual children who stutter. In addition, this handbook will include information on motivation, education, identification, modification which consists of fluency shaping and stuttering modification techniques, and desensitization for the bilingual school-age and adult client.