Voluntary Stuttering Drill
Intentional stuttering for desensitization.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Do it yourself first. A clinician who stutters voluntarily in front of the student takes most of the strangeness out of the task, and a student asked to do it alone usually cannot. Keep the bounces easy and light rather than tense — the point is to demonstrate that a stutter can be produced without struggle, which is a different experience from one that happens to you. Twelve minutes covers the room-based cards.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAsk the question or set the task, then give the student time to answer or try it.Log as correct
- Open promptSay 'Tell me more about that' or 'What happened next?'Log as cued
- ChoicesOffer two ways it might have felt or gone, and let the student pick or correct you.Log as cued
- ModelShare your own example first, or do the task yourself before the student does.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use a feelings scale or picture choices, and start with the easiest situation.
Plan one real situation this week to try it in, and talk it through next session.
Matching IEP goal
Given planned speaking tasks, Student will stutter on purpose in a relaxed way and then describe how it felt, in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve deliberate stutters, moving from the room outward: on purpose, b-b-but I already knew that; s-s-Saturday; my name is J-J-Jordan; can I have a t-t-turn; then order a drink with a bounce on the first sound; ask someone the t-t-time; say hello to the office with an easy bounce; answer a question in class with one voluntary bounce; read a paragraph with three planned bounces.
What to listen for
Watch the anxiety drop across the session. Voluntary stuttering is desensitisation: the student discovers that a stutter produced on purpose, in front of someone, is survivable and mostly unremarked. Notice which cards get refused — the out-of-room ones usually, and the refusal is the information rather than a failure.
Carrying it home
Families can support this by not reacting. A voluntary bounce that draws concern from a parent teaches the opposite of what it is for, so it is worth explaining the exercise to them first.
What's in this activity
- On purpose: b-b-b-but I already knew that.
- On purpose: s-s-Saturday
- On purpose: My name is J-J-Jordan.
- On purpose: Can I have a t-t-turn?
- On purpose: I want p-p-pizza.
- On purpose: Where's the l-l-library?
- On purpose: It's r-r-really cold.
- On purpose: order a drink with a bounce on the first sound.
- On purpose: ask someone the t-t-time.
- On purpose: say hello to the office with an easy bounce.
- On purpose: answer a question in class with one voluntary bounce.
- On purpose: read a paragraph with 3 planned bounces.
Questions
- Why stutter on purpose?
- Because it removes the fear. A student who has stuttered deliberately and found the conversation continued has learned something no amount of technique practice teaches.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve cards play free.
- What grades is this for?
- Fourth through eighth grade, where students can reflect on their own reactions.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.