EDUU 603: Signature Assignment

Communication and Language Instructional Plan and Reflection

Joe R. Barrow

Brandman University

SPRING II 2019
 (​The names have been changed to protect confidentiality.)

Gabe is a 15 year old 8th grade student. He is well-mannered most of the time,

polite and will often smile and nod when addressed by staff. He gets along with his

closer friends who he has known since kindergarten. He likes to play soccer and

basketball and is thinking about trying out next year in high school. However, he is
concerned that his grades are too low to play high school sports. Gabe enjoys playing

video games. He says that he is addicted to them, and that is why he is not doing so

well in school.

Gabe is being treated for a speech and language disfluency, part of the treatment

includes seeing a speech-language pathologist (SLP) during the school day.

Specifically, Gabe is being seen for stuttering or disfluency. Fluency disruption in

speech can occur from more than just developmental stuttering or brain disorder. Often

a person could become a victim of a stroke or a traumatic brain injury. Gabe suffered

the latter as he was entering middle school. His mother, Kate, shares that since the

accident, Gabe has suffered from stuttering.

Stuttering is described as speech that is slow or has pauses or repeated sounds

also known as neurogenic stuttering. Students with speech and language impairments

can feel stressed and anxious, which can make it even harder to talk and express

themselves.

Gabe is quiet in class most of the time. When he is triggered, however, he can be

prone to outburst directed at other students. Gabe also has exhibited signs of anxiety

and has self reported that he often feels “different” or uncomfortable when he is called

on to speak up in class. He sometimes when he is speaking with just his peers.

Goals Addressed

By 10/12/2019, Gabe will identify and eliminate secondary stuttering

characteristics (e.g., eye closure, avoidance or escape behaviors, frustration, body jerk)
while speaking in classroom or schoolyard settings with 90% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials

as measure by teacher observations and data.

By 2/6/2019, using a mirror the student will identify secondary stuttering

characteristics in 2 out of 4 trials with 60% as measure by student tally.

By 6/12/2019, Gabe will eliminate secondary stuttering characteristics when

speaking in school related settings in 3 out of 4 trials with 75 % accuracy as measure by

teacher observations.

I chose this goal and student because I know the student and his family on a

personal level. I can genuinely feel for the parents and the student because even

without a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the middle school years can be challenging. My

objective is to reduce the level of anxiety that Gabe feels with his stuttering. This

includes changing Gabe’s negative perception of stuttering. An additional objective is to

tackle his fears that cause him to avoid things like answering in class, introducing

himself to others or even talking when he is among his peers.

Another reason is that Gabe has struggled with stuttering for years. According to

his mother, Kate, Gabe has shown some improvements but like most middle school

children he needs to put more effort into his therapy and practice on his own. Mom is

concerned that stuttering is just something he will have to deal with all of his life. If this

is the case, then learning how to accept the fact that he stutters and help educate

others and help them understand what stuttering is. Not only will others be able to more

openly and positively receive a student who stutters but it has also been well

documented that the act of self-disclosing benefits those who stutter by reducing anxiety
or tension about hiding stuttering from a listener, and improving social interactions with

people who do not stutter (Van Riper, 1975).

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) will consider a variety of factors, including

the child’s case history, a study of the child’s stuttering behaviors, and an evaluation of

the child’s speech and language abilities and the impact that stuttering has on his or her

life. I found it interesting that according to Gabe’s mother, he did not really sutter before

his accident. At the beginning of his 6th grade year, Gabe was hit by a slow moving car

while he skateboarded in the street near his home. He suffered some broken ribs,

bruising and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He was out of school for most of the year

and was eventually held back one year. Gabe is sensitive about this fact and has

denied that he was held back at all to his peers. Mother also claims that Gabe never

had any behavioral issues and was a good student before his accident, however, his

school record reflect that Gabe did not always perform well academically and often

struggled with getting his work done. Gabe also had some behavioral issues.

According to the SLP, students may stutter more when they are anxious or are

under pressure. Gabe is allowed to take his time in responding, he is encouraged to

speak slowly in class and should be given plenty of time to express his ideas, thoughts,

or to ask questions.

The SLP also informs students and teaches that interrupting or completing a

sentence for students who stutter is not helpful and instead may cause embarrassment.

The SLP suggested that teachers can support Gabe by giving him additional time

to complete assignments or make up work. They can also substitute written papers or
projects for oral presentations, or allow the student to demonstrate learning one-on-one

with the teacher in private or within a small group in which the student feels comfortable.

Definitions​:

Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure involves communicating to others information that reveals one's

identity as a person who stutters. Often referred to as "advertising" in the stuttering

community, it can involve revealing that identity directly, talking about stuttering or

treatment of stuttering, explaining or interpreting symptoms of stuttering, providing

advice on how to respond to someone who stutters, or, in the case of school-age

children, advertising through a classroom presentation with the guidance of the SLP or

classroom teacher (Murphy et al., 2007b).

Objective

Student will participate in a variety of desensitization activities including

self-disclosure to help reduce negative reactions to stuttering resulting in student feeling

less anxious and shame about how others react to his stuttering. Positive results have

been associated with children who stutter who self-disclose. (Byrd et al. (2016)

Materials needed

● Sentence frames

● 3 x 5 Guide Cards with self disclosure statement:

○ “Just so you know, I sometimes stutter, so you might hear me repeat

some words/sounds/phrases”
 ○ There are many famous people who also stutter. Like Tiger Woods, Bruce

Willis, Joe Biden, King George VI…

○ More than 70 million people worldwide stutter, which is about 1% of the

population. In the United States, that's over 3 million Americans who

stutter.

● Information about Stuttering

● A Boy and A Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz is a book about a little boy who loves

animals and has a difficult time communicating because of stuttering.

● List of famous people who stutter

○ Vice-President Joe Biden

○ King George VI, King George VI's effort to overcome his nervous stammer

with the assistance of speech therapist Lionel Logue is the basis for the

award-winning movie, The King’s Speech.

○ Tiger Woods, "The words got lost somewhere between the brain and the

mouth." The celebrated golfer said he got help with his disorder at school -

and from practicing speaking to his dog. His struggle with stuttering

factored into his decision to open the Tiger Woods Learning Center in

2006.

○ Bruce Willis

○ John Updike, well known author

○ Bill Walton, professional basketball player

○ Winston Churchill, statesman

 ○ Singer Marc Anthony

The learning activities and explicit teacher instruction that would take place

outside of the classroom setting. There would be three to five sessions where Gabe

would rehearse what he was going to self -disclose to another student or staff member.

● Gabe will engage in a conversation using self disclosure techniques at the onset

of the conversation with another student or teacher whom Gabe is extremely

comfortable with.

● Gabe will engage in a conversation using self disclosure strategies by introducing

himself to a teacher whom he does not know so well.

● Gabe will engage in a conversation with another student who he shares a class

with but does not know very well or seldom speaks with.

● Gabe will begin and carry on a conversation with a teacher whom he does not

know very well.

● Gabe would begin a conversation with small talk and eventually self disclose that

he stutters sometimes but that its okay.

● In time and after some practice and lessening of anxiety, Gabe would eventually

make a presentation in front of his class educating others about stuttering. Giving

a classroom presentation about stuttering places the child who stutters in the

position of expert, thereby helping to diminish the fear and shame experienced

by many children who stutter (Blood & Blood, 2004; Murphy, 1989, 1999).
 Additional learning activities that would take place are the student would

research information on stuttering and fluency disruption. For example, the student

would demonstrate knowledge on facts about stuttering in regards to organizations

which support people with disfluency, different types of stutters, famous people who

have become successful by reading articles, watching videos, and familiarizing himself

with organizations like the Stuttering Foundation of America.

Student will be assessed by teacher observation. Data will be collected every

time the student engages in a pre-planned conversation and uses the techniques he

has been taught by his speech and language pathologist. Data observed will be

students level of anxiety as measured by his speech rate and number of speech

disfluencies during conversation.

Implementation

In preparation for the classroom presentation itself, Gabe and his teacher

engaged in a series of specific activities over the course of approximately three to five

sessions.

Gabe’s first session was delayed due to some scheduling and Gabe’s anxiety

level about self disclosing. However, after rehearsing his lines, he was able to self

disclose to another special education teacher. Gabe was able to say his lines with some

guidance and using his sentence 3 x 5 cards. He spoke rather quickly. The teacher

responded appropriately and also shared that her niece stutters. Gabe reported that the

experience was easier than he thought it would be.

 During a subsequent session, Gabe self disclosed to another teacher that he was

not that familiar with and had similar results.

Gabe’s third and fourth sessions were of him self disclosing to a friend and also a

small group of friends, respectively.

When Gabe finally self disclosed to a peer whom he was not that familiar with he

shared that it was a little bit awkward for him. But that he would be willing to try it again

and even claimed that it wasn’t that big of a deal.

His mom shared how the accident changed his life. His battle with stuttering

made him feel isolated. "It had a very negative impact on him at school," she said. She

shared that kids tease him all the time. He was always popular with the other kids, but

not now.

Gabe’s case has always been heartbreaking yet hopeful. Gabe seems motivated

to learn and work towards overcoming his stuttering, however, he may not ever

completely overcome his stuttering. For that reason, Gabe should also work towards

acceptance that he may always have a stutter and learn how to use some strategies to

help him and others better cope with his disfluency. For example, when Gabe

approaches his new or old friends he should be able to self disclose that he sometimes

stutters. Additionally, he should have a couple of facts related to the prevalence of

stuttering or disfluency in our society and those around the world. Perhaps even have

some anecdotal stories of celebrities or other famous people who became extremely

successful in life after dealing with stuttering.

 In Gabe’s case, I felt that with more time and practice he will become more at

ease in self-disclosing that he sometimes stutters and come to accept that it is the norm

for about 3 million other people in the United States. Due to time constraints the process

went from role playing with the teacher to actual self disclosure with another peer who

was not his friend. I feel that sometimes his self disclosure sounded forced and he

interaction was awkward. I feel that with more practice it could have went better. I feel

that rushing into it could have had negative consequences and reinforced the negative

misconceptions that others can have about people who stutter. However, being in a

middle school setting where awkwardness is the norm, I feel that the self-disclosure was

more productive than not.

Stuttering is often misunderstood only because it may be unfamiliar to most of

us. It can and often does make those listening to a person who stutters feel quite

uncomfortable. Often someone who is listening to a person who stutters may make

things worse by trying to help. For example, another student might ask another student

who stutters, “why do you talk like that?” The intent would not be to tease, bully or make

the student feel uncomfortable but the question would be asked simply out of curiosity.

In another academic scenario, a teacher may ask a student who is stuttering to slow

down, take a deep breath or in an attempt to help try to finish a students sentence; all

these things could make the student with the speech disfluency feel awkward. Although

the teacher may have the best intentions, completing a student’s sentences may feel

demeaning and there is always the risk of guessing the wrong word or phrase, then the
awkwardness would only increase. Educating peers and classmates about stuttering

and about bullying helps them recognize that even when they are not trying to be mean,

their inquisitive or even supportive comments about a child’s speech can have

unexpected consequences (Craig & Pepler, 1995).

In cases of students who stutter education, understanding, and compassion are

key. Everyone should learn to be tolerant and understanding of each others’ challenges.

Gabe’s case is a hopeful one. He has a speech and language pathologist who

has worked with him and his family for years. He also has a great support team and

most of his closer friends have grown to accept him for who he is. His support group is

solid and they have shown that they are always open to new ideas and strategies to

help Gabe.

During one of the later interactions with a peer, Gabe disclosed that he

sometimes he stutters. Gabe added, “Especially when I’m mad or I lose in God of War

(a popular video game) to one of my friends.” His peer responded, “Sometimes I cuss

when that happens and I get my PS4 taken away.”

A lot could be learned by each and everyone of us about self disclosure, we can

learn not only how to be more tolerant of each other, we can also learn a little more

about ourselves.

REFERENCES:
Blood, G. W., & Blood, I. M. (2004). Bullying in adolescents who stutter: Communicative

competence and self-esteem. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science

and Disorders, 31, 69-79.

C.T. Byrd, Z. Gkalitsiou, M. McGill, O. Reed, E.M. Kelly The influence of self-disclosure

on school-age children’s perceptions of children who stutter

Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior, 4 (2016), pp. 1-9

Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. J. (1995). Peer processes in bullying and victimization: An

observational study. Exceptionality Education in Canada, 5, 81–95.

Van Riper, C. (1973). The treatment of stuttering. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

W.P. Murphy, J.S. Yaruss, R.W. Quesal Enhancing treatment for school-age

children who stutter: II. Reducing bullying through role-playing and

self-disclosure Journal of Fluency Disorders, 32 (2) (2007), pp. 139-162