What distinguishes cluttering from other fluency disorders?

Cluttering is characterized by a fluency disorder where individuals typically exhibit rapid speech that may be disorganized and difficult to understand due to a lack of self-monitoring skills. This means that people who clutter may not be aware of their speech difficulties or may not notice when their speech becomes too fast or convoluted. As a result, their speech can appear disjointed and may include extraneous sounds or syllables, making it challenging for listeners to follow.

What sets cluttering apart from other fluency disorders, like stuttering, is this lack of awareness; individuals who stutter are often highly aware of their speech issues and may exhibit significant anxiety or effort to control their speech. The defining feature of cluttering is, therefore, that it typically occurs without the individual's conscious monitoring, resulting in a noticeable deviation from fluent communication.

The presence of fluency without the ability to self-monitor is crucial for distinguishing cluttering from other fluency disorders and understanding the nature of this particular speech challenge.