Fluency Therapy

Help your stuttering clients produce consistently fluent speech with this innovative program.

Two levels of instruction are provided (grades K – 3rd and 4th through adult) with age-appropriate and high interest stimulus materials.

Stepping Up to Fluency 2 can be used successfully with both children and adults in any therapy environment – schools, hospitals, clinics, or private practice.

You will teach five target techniques needed to manage stuttering:

• Full Breath to sustain a short sentence
• Easy Onset in initiating words beginning with vowels
• Continuous Speech to eliminate choppiness
• Light Contact on initial consonant sounds
• Phrasing groups of words together

Regular charting of the client's performance provides systematic reinforcement and feedback.

Readings, monologues, and carry-over activities center on the interests of the client, making the program highly motivating for individuals of all ages.

This program contains these reproducible materials:

• Record keeping Charts
• Target definitions
• Worksheets for specific targets
• Stories and Poems
• 72 Stimulus cards

Stepping Up to Fluency 2 can be used successfully with both children and adults in any therapy environment - schools, hospitals, clinics, or private practice.

For more information, write to:

Steppinguptofluency@yahoo.com

 Janice has a private practice in Calvert County, MD, where she specializes in fluency and articulation disorders. Her clients range in age from kindergarten through adult. Sessions are on a 1:1 basis in a warm and friendly setting. Parents can observe and participate in therapy as appropriate. 

About the Author

Janice Pechter Ellis has over 45 years of extensive experience in Speech Pathology. After graduating from Penn State in 1976, she went on to get her Master’s at George Washington University. Janice worked as an SLP for 31 years in Prince George’s County, MD public schools followed by 7 years in Calvert County, MD public schools. She has also maintained her private practice since 1981 where she has been able to use her expertise to help individuals who struggle with stuttering. 

Janice is the author of Fluency Criterion Program 1986; Fluency Criterion Program for Young Children 1988; and Stepping Up to Fluency 1998. When she’s not helping others achieve their fluency goals, she can be seen working on her acrylic paintings or playing Mah Jongg with friends. 

Contact Janice at Steppinguptofluency@yahoo.com 

“This is the least I can say to thank you for what you did for me in helping me to gain fluency. Your teachings charged my life in ways I could not have imagined. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” - Aaron Marshall, Esq., previous client

“Wonderful systematic fluency program! I have used "Stepping Up To Fluency 2" with many students, resulting in steady progress.  The charts, definitions and practice pages make the program easy to use with clients of all ages.  I would highly recommend this book for SLPs  working with stuttering.” - Eileen F  SLP, Maryland Public Schools

“My son had always struggled with stuttering since the age of 4. Eventually it kept him from participating in school, socializing with friends, and playing the quarter back position he had always loved in football. With the help from Janice and the 5 techniques she taught to him to use when speaking, I now have a confident 15 year old son willing and able to present information in front of his classmates, be a leader on the football field, and hang out with his friends like all 15 year olds typically do. Learning these techniques has truly been such a positive change in his life and his outlook on what he can achieve.” -Mother of previous client

“From the first phone call with Janice she was so warm and knowledgeable. Everything we gave her as personal history she understood.  Our teen son wanted something more in-depth and comprehensive while in a supportive private environment. Janice provided all of that! It was especially important to him and to us as parents of a student approaching high school that instruction felt age appropriate. The Stepping Up to Fluency 2 program and the five target definitions were essential to success. These strategies were taught individually and combined to form a solid foundation for lasting fluency. A methodical program with carryover skills that felt natural outside of a clinical setting had been missing in prior speech therapy attempts. We learned that was a key component to long-term success.

Just a few months after starting her program, COVID disrupted daily life and in person lessons were temporarily suspended.  Janice was creative and worked with him in a variety of environments including Facetime and outdoors. The change in our son is remarkable! High school may be virtual but he is engaged and participating in ways we’ve not seen before. He’s joined many clubs and has been recommended by teachers for programs that require constant verbal communication. He communicates more freely and more confidently than we thought possible and most importantly he has acquired that elusive “carryover” from a private setting into everyday life. As a parent it brings so much joy and reassurance to know that he has Janice and Stepping Up To Fluency 2 as a supportive resource.” - Mother of 2020 fluency client