ABSTRACT
Term used in neurology, speech-language pathology, and psychopathology for one type of fluency disorder and/or its associated thought processes. Characteristics include an accelerated rate of speech in long sentences or those with polysyllabic words, the omission or repetition of syllables, a distortion of sounds as well as a reduction of consonant clusters ( anaptyxis, assimilation, blend, metathesis). Cluttering is associated with impulsive behavior and sudden vasomotor reactions such as blushing. As a symptom, it represents a distortion of temporal structure; as a syndrome it may be associated with specific language impairment and developmental dyslexia. In contrast to stutterers ( dysfluency), clutterers are able to control their behavior in situations where ‘good speaking’ is required. This phenomenon is not widely accepted as a clinical entity in North America.
