What is cluttering?

Cluttering is a fluency difference that affects speech clarity (intelligibility), organisation, and the timing of speech. People who clutter are often described as speaking "too quickly" or mumbling. Many people who clutter experience negative communication interactions but may not understand why. They may simply find themselves being told to "slow down" or "say it again" multiple times each day.

However, cluttering is much more than simply talking fast.

Individuals who clutter may speak in bursts, omit or collapse sounds and syllables, have difficulty organising their thoughts into clear messages, or speak in a way that is difficult for listeners to follow. Some people may also experience challenges with self-monitoring, turn-taking, or recognising when communication breakdowns occur.

Common features of cluttering can include:

• Rapid and/or irregular speech rate

• Reduced speech clarity or intelligibility

• "Telescoping" or collapsing sounds and syllables (e.g., leaving out parts of words). For example, "syllable" may become "syble".

• Excessive use of fillers, revisions, or repetitions

• Difficulty organising thoughts into concise messages

• In some cases, reduced awareness of communication breakdowns

Cluttering can co-occur with other communication differences, including stuttering, ADHD, autism, and language differences.

Therapy for cluttering often involves increasing understanding of cluttering, developing self-awareness and self-advocacy skills, identifying cluttering moments, and—if the individual wishes to—exploring strategies such as modifying speech rate and increasing pausing to support listener understanding.

At Your Voice Matters, therapy for cluttering is collaborative and individualised. Therapy focuses on supporting clients to communicate in ways that align with their goals. This may include increasing awareness of communication patterns, improving intelligibility, developing self-advocacy skills, and exploring strategies that support clearer and more effective communication in everyday life.