The program was originally aired as part of the “Case Studies in Fluency Disorders” online conference (October 31-November 12, 2012).

Many SLPs who work with people who have fluency disorders are unsure of how to apply their knowledge to clients with Down syndrome, and many SLPs who work with clients with Down syndrome or other learning disorders are insecure about how to address their clients' fluency problems. This session aims to bring the fields together to increase the confidence of those who work with people who have Down syndrome and are also disfluent. We will discuss a psycholinguistic model for understanding both fluency and speech difficulties of people with Down syndrome, and analyze the effect of linguistic abilities on fluency in this population.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• describe the features of speech that lead to our perception of disfluency in people with Down syndrome,
• make well-informed management decisions for individuals with Down syndrome who are also disfluent, and
• give advice and guidance to parents, teachers, and others that is based on sound linguistic principles.

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