Oral reading fluency assessments in school-age children who stutter

Oral reading rate is commonly used to assess reading fluency. It provides a measure of automaticity. It is also an indicator of potential reading ability and a strong predictor of academic success. However, there are some concerns that children who stutter may not be receiving necessary accommodations during reading tests that have reading rate as an integral component of the assessment. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association(ASHA) Ad Hoc Committee on Reading Fluency for School-Age Children Who Stutter fielded a survey to investigate the following two questions: (A) What tests are being administered to measure academic benchmarks in oral reading fluency across the United States? (B) What accommodations are being implemented during the administration of oral reading fluency tests to account for problems due to stuttering (e.g., blocks, repetitions, prolongations, slower-than-normal speech rate, speech breakdowns from reading/speaking under pressure, hesitations)? An email invitation to participate in the survey was sent to ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists residing in the United States and employed on a full-or part-time basis. The Ad Hoc committee reviewed the quantitative and qualitative results of the survey to determine current practices of reading assessment in schools, appropriateness of testing tools, and barriers to adequate testing. An emerging theme about current status is that the process for testing oral reading fluency in children who stutter is not standardized. The process is variable within and across school districts and decisions regarding test accommodations are variable and are made on a case-by-case basis. Speech-language pathologists indicated that school professionals need more information about how to accurately measure reading fluency in children who stutter, and that specific barriers prevent the information from being disseminated. This poster will showcase the oral reading fluency survey outcomes, including potential clinical implications of reading fluency testing for school-age children who stutter.