e B o o k

C l u t t e r i n g

IN THIS EBOOK: What is cluttering?

Differences with stuttering

How to recognize cluttering

December 2020
CONTENTS

04 05 06
Cluttering, that 'other Cluttering in brief The fundamental

speech disorder'... difference with stuttering

07 08 09
Symptoms of cluttering Types of cluttering Differences with

stuttering

10 11 12
Causes of cluttering Central issue in More info & contact

cluttering
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December 2020
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Cluttering; that 'other speech disorder'

“Could you talk a little slower, I'm not following you," But what, exactly, is cluttering? And why is it still in
or: "What are you saying?" the shadow of stuttering? This e-book provides an
answer to this and discusses, among other things: the
If you clutter, these are just some examples of the cause of this speech-language disorder, its main
comments that will be familiar to you and that you will characteristics, and how it differs from stuttering.
have heard regularly from others.

International experts agree that cluttering is something "I always thought I stuttered. I never would
(completely) different from stuttering. According to
the latest estimates, cluttering is as common as have guessed that there was actually a name

stuttering. It is therefore not for nothing that cluttering for what I did."
has been included as a standalone condition in the
World Health Organization’s (WHO) classification
since 2007.
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Cluttering in brief

Cluttering impacts the fluency and/or intelligibility of By language planning we mean: determining what you
the speech. At first notice, the disfluencies that occur are going to say, the structuring of your message and
in cluttering resemble those of stuttering. Yet in reality the structuring of sentences. Cluttering speakers often
they are (very) different and have a different cause. indicate that their head is full of thoughts. If they do
The disfluencies of cluttering arise as a result of two not have their language planning in order, they will
things: soon stumble over their words. This disrupts
communication with others.
too high a speech rate/ difficulty controlling the
pace of speaking; In general, the speech of cluttering speakers sounds
disorganized planning of language. jerky, messy, or unclear. The disfluencies in cluttering
are different in nature from those in stuttering.
Cluttering symptoms are also called “nonstuttering-
like (typical) disfluencies”: they’re glitches that
everyone shows from time to time, except cluttering
speakers produce them a lot more frequently than
typical speakers or people who stutter.
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The fundamental difference with stuttering

It is important to mention that in addition to stuttering This essential difference can be traced back to
and cluttering there is also a mixed form, called distinctive neurological processes. Stuttering is seen as
clutter-stuttering. Someone who clutter-stutters shows a speech motor defect (the coordination and timing of
features of both disorders. This e-book describes the the muscles of speech) and cluttering is viewed as a
difference between the "classic" stuttering - that many defect in the timing and planning of language. Both
will recognize - and cluttering. conditions have their own specific symptoms and
require different treatment.
Stuttering speakers usually know what they want to
say, but struggle to get their words out. In cluttering
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists 3
speakers this works the other way around: because
their language planning is often not yet complete, they "personal characteristics" of cluttering speakers:

may have difficulty deciding what to say and how to hurried, uninhibited and impulsive

express themselves.
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Symptomps of cluttering

Cluttering involves a number of typical symptoms. Secondary symptoms

These can be divided into:
In addition to these main characteristics, one or more
Core symptoms secondary symptoms often occur in the speech of
Secondary symptoms cluttering speakers, such as:
Other symptoms
Filler words like “uhm,” “you know,” “well,”
“like”, and “actually”
Main symptoms Monotone way of speaking
The pace at which cluttering speakers talk is almost Poor articulation/ mumbling
always too high and/or irregular, the latter meaning Speaking too loudly or softly (e.g. strong decrease
that sudden accelerations (spurts) occur in their speech of volume at the end of a sentence)
frequently. Verbosity
Word finding difficulties
In addition to this too high a speech rate, one or more
of the following characteristics must be present:
Other symptoms
High frequency of normal disfluencies, such as
repetitions ('I went, I went, I went' ...) sentence Symptoms of cluttering also exist outside of
revisions ('I cycled, uh ... I walked home'), or the someone’s speech. These, too, can have a disruptive
wrong selection of words ('Take a seat in that chair effect on communication with others. Examples are:
, uh ... bank ‘).
Wrong use of pauses (too few, too short, too many, Too little eye contact
too long or at incorrect places in a sentence), Interrupting others
syllable stress and disturbed rhythm of speech Restless body language
Errors in word structures caused by collapsing or Sloppy handwriting
omitting of syllables ("aminum" for "aluminum"). Poor assessment of the quality of their own speech
Being late
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Types of cluttering

Cluttering can be divided into 2 different types, each Phonological cluttering

having its own characteristics: Symptoms like collapsing or omitting
syllables, poor articulation or misspeaking
Syntactic cluttering (errors in word structure) damage the structure
Symptoms like sentence revisions, filler words and of words. These have consequences for the
repetitions damage the structure of your sentences. intelligibility of someone’s speech. This is also
They overturn the logic of your story, so that people called phonological cluttering.
have difficulty following you. These symptoms refer to
what is known as syntactic cluttering, that comes from Both types of cluttering may occur within the
”syntaxis”, the structure of sentences. They impact the same person.
fluency of the speech.
Differences with stuttering

Stuttering and cluttering are fundamentally different People who stutter are more aware of the
disorders. That’s why quite a few differences between imperfections in their speech than cluttering
the two exist. Below we list a number of them. speakers. It is the reason why stuttering speakers
often have fear of talking, as opposed to cluttering
Stuttering speakers struggle to say what has speakers. However, communication fear can arise
already been planned; with cluttering speakers this in cluttering speakers, the fear of not being
language planning is not yet complete. understood by others.
Stuttering speakers show tense blockages or If people who clutter concentrate well on their
prolongations in their speech (also known as speech, their speech improves immediately; this is
“stuttering-like disfluencies”). This involves the other way around for stuttering speakers.
“fighting behavior”. Disfluencies in the speech of On a difficult topic of conversation, cluttering
cluttering speakers are different in nature and speakers often have trouble to get out of their
come out in a relaxed manner. They are also called words easily; for people who stutter the difficulty
“normal (typical) disfluencies”. of the subject does not matter.
The speech rate of stuttering speakers is much The speech of cluttering speakers often improves
more constant than that of people who clutter. when speaking in a foreign language. It gets worse
Stuttering speakers (like fluent speakers) are more in stuttering speakers.
easily able to adjust their speech rate when the Reading aloud an unknown text is beneficial for
situation demands it. Cluttering speakers have a lot people who clutter; while it isn’t for people who
more trouble with that. stutter. This is the other way around when reading
a known text aloud.
In their physical appearance (body language)
cluttering speakers come across a lot more restless
than stuttering speakers.

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Causes of cluttering

Lack of inhibition Relations with other conditions

We know from research that cluttering speakers have a Scientific research shows that cluttering has strong
so-called inhibition deficit: once they have started correlations with, among other disorders, learning
speaking, it can be difficult for them to keep their difficulties and ADHD. In people with these conditions
speech rate in check, and even to stop speaking. There cluttering exists more than averagely. To be clear, this
is evidence that this inhibition problem originates in does not mean that if you clutter you will have
the brainstem, the part of the brain that controls the learning difficulties or ADHD per se. Cluttering and
central nervous system. other related disorders can easily exist separately.

Heredity Do not confuse with …

Broddelen has a clear hereditary component. About Cluttering should not be confused with a language
85-90% of the cluttering speakers have a family development disorder (LDD). People with a language
member with a congenital fluency disorder, such as development disorder also have problems with
cluttering or stuttering. planning their language at a lower speech rate. For that
same reason, cluttering also should not be seen as an
articulation defect: people with this condition also
experience articulation problems at a low rate of
speech.
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Central themes in cluttering

Time Communication
Given the poor ability of language planning in Given the fact that most people are unfamiliar with
cluttering speakers, the recurring motif in cluttering is cluttering, it is essental that this topic is shared with
time. By taking sufficient time before, during or after others. Today, still many "stuttering speakers" are out
speaking, cluttering speakers enable themselves to there who do not know themselves that they actually
complete their language formulation and prepare their clutter, and therefore do not receive the proper
articulation. Taking time can make a world of treatment. It is high time to change this.
difference; the difference between speaking fluent and
cluttering.

Slower is faster. Really? Yes, really.

Concentration
In order to better express themselves, a high level of
concentration for cluttering speakers is key: if they
focus enough on their way of speaking, the fluency or
intelligibility of their speech will immediately
improve.
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everything you always wanted to know about
cluttering. Including personal stories of people
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