ABSTRACT
Japan has recently witnessed an increased interest in interventions for people who have speech disorders with coexisting developmental disorders such as learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, there are frequent reports that some children exhibit rapid speech and repetition. Based on previous literature (Daly, 1993; St. Louis & Myers, 1997), I suggest the necessity to consider such children from the viewpoint of cluttering. Since at present in Japan, as elsewhere, there is no generally agreed upon definition of cluttering (see also St. Louis & Schulte, chapter 13 this volume), we cannot formally assess and treat children who suffer from this disorder. In this research, I will investigate the similarity between such cases and the international literature on cluttering, and discuss the feasibility of accepting a diagnostic classification of cluttering in Japan. Furthermore, I present two cases of children with suspected cluttering, where intervention was targeted using clinical methods that are specifically aimed at the treat ment of cluttering.
