Examination of cluttering (2 sessions)

Cluttering is a lesser-known yet common fluency disorder characterized by an abnormally rapid and/or irregular speech rate. It is typically accompanied by one or more of the following three main features (St. Louis et al., 2007):

1.  Reduced speech intelligibility due to telescoping or syntactic errors;
2.  High frequency of normal disfluencies;
3.  Inappropriate or missing pauses in speech.

Unlike individuals who stutter, people who clutter are often unaware of their speech difficulties, only recognizing the problem through recordings or feedback from others. However, more and more people who clutter report during consultations that they feel anxious about speaking in public or even ordering food at a restaurant, as they anticipate that their speech will be cluttered.

Common Associated Symptoms of Cluttering

• Increased overall speech rate

• "Burst-like" speech, where parts of the sentence accelerate suddenly

• Omission or fusion of sounds, syntactic or morphological errors

• Loss of rhythmic flow in speech

• Monotone intonation

• Lack of natural pauses

• Disorganized speech patterns

• Difficulty coordinating thought and language expression

Diagnostic Tools for Cluttering

Our cluttering assessments are based on the research of internationally recognized experts Isabella Reichel and Yvonne Van Zaalen, using the most up-to-date screening tools, such as the Predictive Cluttering Inventory (PCI) – also known in Hungarian as the Hadarás Előrejelző Leltár (HEL). This tool was specifically developed to identify and evaluate cluttering symptoms.

A Personal Reflection on Cluttering

“There were times when my thoughts were racing far ahead of my mouth’s ability to catch up.
The result of this race was usually a tangled mess of words spilling out of my mouth, leaving both the listener and myself confused.”
— Exum et al., 2010

(Image source: Cluttering by Yvonne Van Zaalen)