Cluttering is not the same as stuttering

In my previous post on filler words I mentioned that some people have a problem with speaking smoothly that is called cluttering. I linked to the Stuttering Foundation’s brochure on cluttering which begins by stating that:

“Like stuttering, cluttering is a fluency disorder, but the two disorders are not the same. Cluttering involves excessive breaks in the normal flow of speech that seem to result from disorganized speech planning, talking too fast or in spurts, or simply being unsure of what one wants to say. By contrast, the person who stutters typically knows exactly what he or she wants to say but is temporarily unable to say it. To make matters even more confusing, since cluttering is not well known, many who clutter are described by themselves or others as ‘stuttering.’ Also, and equally confusing, cluttering often occurs along with stuttering.”

Jenny Loehr shows the fundamental difference between the two with this cartoon.

In the March 2009 issue of the ASHA Leader Judith Maginnis Kuster discussed cluttering in her article titled: Cluttering: The Other Fluency Disorder. She gives a lot of useful web links. (I got to the Jenny Loehr cartoon from her list). She also links to the International Cluttering Association (ICA).

Ms. Kuster also links to an article where Joseph Dewey describes his personal experiences with cluttering. Mr. Dewey wrote a guide at Amazon.com:So you’d like to...um...stop...you know…like…using filler words. He also runs an online Yahoo support group mentioned on the ICA web site.