Short Biographical Sketch

Mark Meersman is a certified SLT and lecturer at Lessius Hogeschool, ass. University of Leuven, Belgium (courses on Fluency Disorders, Methodology of SLT and Behaviour Analysis) in the Dept. of SLT. His extensive expertise arose from theoretical specialisations such as Fluency Disorders (CIOOS, Belgium) and Voice Disorders (University of Antwerp, Belgium) fruitfully combined with his clinical experience over the last 17 years. He authored various articles and lectured nationally and internationally on the treatment of fluency disorders.

Lecture Title

An Eclectic Social-Cognitive Behavioural Model for Stuttering Treatment

Abstract

In our lecture we will address the Eclectic Social-Cognitive Behavioural approach to fluency treatment. In this model, that has developed in Flanders throughout the past 4 decades, treatment of fluency problems and the help to PWS intervenes in each of the characteristic behaviour components – i.e., overt behaviour, cognitive and emotional processes - in a methodical way that is congruous with the present-day knowledge of the phenomenology of fluency disorders and with the fundamental principles of behaviour modification in the broadest sense.

This ESCG-approach is founded mainly on a three factor model to explain fluency disorders (i.e., predisposing, precipitating and persisting factors) in which basic learning processes (i.e., classical and instrumental conditioning, social learning…) are considered as crucial agents in the development from the disorder into a problem. ESCG-fluency treatment is characterized by a experimental methodology (with N=1) in which treatment can be seen as the systematic testing of hypotheses about the problematic behaviour. The emphasis is on the well-founded selection and application of behaviour modification procedures. The treatment provides the client (child, adult…) and his environment with an active role in which recognizing, identifying, gaining insight, increasing emotional tolerance and training a wide scope of (fluency, language, communication) skills are central elements.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will learn:

1. about the goals and rationale of an Eclectic Social-Cognitive Behavioural approach to fluency treatment,
2. what each of the components of the ECSG-model stand for,
3. how the ECSG-approach developed throughout the years and in what way it is an endeavour to combine current knowledge about fluency disorders with current knowledge about human behaviour and behaviour modification,
4. about the stages treatment according to the ESCG-model consists of.