Course overview

In clinical practice, many speech pathologists feel ill-equipped to diagnose and treat cluttering. This Clinical Bite provides information about how to identify and determine treatment targets for cluttering and demonstrates the clinical application of treatment for different clients.

Learning objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, participants will be able to:

• identify clients with cluttered speech,
• understand why diagnosis of cluttering might be overlooked and apply an appropriate assessment battery for its identification,
• advocate for a communication-centred treatment approach that involves both the listener and speaker,
• design individualised treatment for cluttering clients.

Dr Michelle Swift

Dr Michelle Swift is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist who currently works in her own private practice focussing on stuttering, cluttering and other fluency disorders. She obtained her PhD at the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, Sydney, Australia and completed a post-doc at the Institute of Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR), The University of Alberta, Canada. For over 15 years she has taught into and coordinated Fluency Disorders courses at both Bachelors and Masters level across Australia and internationally, as well as providing clinical education to Speech Pathology students on placement. Her research interests include the lived experience of communication disorders and outcomes of the real-world application of stuttering treatments.

Ms Eleanor Brasted

Eleanor is a graduate of the Flinders University Masters of speech pathology program and developed a passion for working with stutterers/people with stutter while on student placement at Flinders University Fluency Clinic. Eleanor is constantly working to develop her professional learning and ways of creating positive learning opportunities for people with voice and communication difficulties.

Eleanor has clinical experience in inpatient rehabilitation settings in adult stroke rehab, as well as in the disability sector, involving social communication and language difficulties.

Eleanor graduated with distinction in Musical Theatre from the Royal Academy of Music in London and has an interest in voice therapy, with a particular interest in psychogenic and functional voice disorders. Eleanor has shared her passion for voice through teaching singing for over 15 years as well as spending several years touring the world with musical theatre.

Her wealth of experience in the creative arts, including almost 15 years as a singing teacher, has informed her creative clinical style, which she combines with a strong evidence-based approach. Eleanor is passionate about the collaborative nature of fluency and voice therapy involving the best available evidence, the clinician and the goals of the client and their families.

• Training Hours: 1.30