differential diagnosis and evaluation

Differential diagnosis refers to attempts made to determining the specific etiologic cause(s) that serve or served to predispose, precipitate and/or maintain the problem of stuttering. The differential evaluation of stuttering tends to focus on those factors that contribute to the overt features of the disorder (stuttering frequency, intensity, duration, and type) as well as the more covert features (cognitive and emotional correlates of concern, worry, fear, expectancy, frustration, guilt, etc.) Both diagnostic and evaluative factors play a role in clinical strategies to prevent the disorder, as well as strategies for early intervention and remediation.