The Need for Improved Awareness of the Characteristics of Cluttering as a Fluency Disorder

Cluttering is a communication disorder that Speech Language Pathologists have been attempting to define for decades. It is typically considered to be a fluency disorder, affecting the rate and organization of speech, as well as causing unexpected pausing and speech patterns. The most well-known fluency disorder is stuttering; the majority of people know someone who has a stutter, or at least are aware of what stuttering sounds like. Cluttering is much less recognized, and is often mistaken for stuttering by individuals who are unaware that cluttering exists. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness of cluttering is a widespread issue affecting professionals and nonprofessionals throughout the world. One of the major issues surrounding cluttering is that it does not yet have a universally agreed upon definition, which makes it difficult to diagnose. More research in this area is vital, in order to establish the characteristics that are essential for a cluttering diagnosis