When determining the severity of disfluencies, which factor is not typically considered?

The determination of the severity of disfluencies in speech often involves various measurable factors that directly relate to the speaker's experience of disfluency. The number of repetitions provides a quantitative measure of how often disruptions occur, which is crucial in evaluating severity. The duration of the speech disruption helps to assess how long a speaker is impacted during their speech, offering insights into the nature of the disfluency. The consistency of disfluencies across different speaking situations indicates whether the disfluencies are pervasive or situational, which can affect the overall assessment.

In contrast, the discouragement of the listener is not typically a factor considered when evaluating the severity of disfluencies. Listener feedback may be significant in the context of therapeutic outcomes or the interpersonal effects of a speaker’s disfluencies, but it does not objectively measure the severity of the speech issues themselves. Thus, focusing on measurable physical aspects of disfluency is prioritized to ensure an accurate and objective assessment is made for clinical and therapeutic purposes.