Giving the Predictive Cluttering Inventory (PCI)

The Predictive Cluttering Inventory (PCI) is a non-standard checklist used for indicating the likelihood a person is a clutterer. It can also be used for a differential diagnosis between cluttering and stuttering. There are no clear-cut instructions on ages but based on the prompts, it is for school-aged children.

It’s a great companion to the Stuttering Severity Instrument 4th Edition (SSI-4), which is administered to measure stuttering severity in spontaneous speech and reading. I have created report templates for both fluency evaluations that you can view here.

PCI Areas of Assessment

The Predictive Cluttering Inventory is divided into the following sections:

• Pragmatics: Assesses awareness of self-monitoring skills, awareness of communication breakdowns, attempts to repair breakdowns, and anxiety about speaking
• Speech-Motor: Assesses articulation, speech rate, combining words, pausing, and prosody
• Language-Cognition: Assesses word-finding skills, use of filler words, ability to convey information, and grammar
• Motor Coordination-Writing: Assesses handwriting legibility, formation of letters and words, and overall coordination of self

Scoring the PCI

While the PCI should be scored and interpreted by a Speech-Language Pathologist, it can be completed by a teacher, caregiver, or someone familiar with the child. There are several criteria in the areas listed above that are rated on a scale of 0-6 (0 = never, 6 = always).

The ratings are totaled into an overall score. An overall score of 80-120 indicates a likelihood that a person clutters and stutters. An overall score of 120 or above indicates a likelihood that a person clutters.

Cluttering Observation

At this time, there are no formal or standard assessments for cluttering. For one more point of measurement, I like to obtain a speech sample and compare that to the criteria outlined by The Stuttering Foundation and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Depending on the client’s age and abilities, you can use a monologue, reading task, or both. The criteria listed are at least one of the following:

• Excessive moments of over-coarticulation: Meaning that sounds and syllables are blended together or may sound like all sounds are syllables or words are not present
• Excessive use of normal disfluencies: Meaning an excessive use of fillers or interjections (e.g., um, uh, er) and revisions (e.g., I would like to go—I was thinking about taking a drive)
• Unexpected pauses: Meaning extra pausing or less pausing in places needed for grammar, such as at the end of thought groups or sentences

For more info on report writing, check out these resources- ⬇️
Blog post: Write a Great Speech and Language Report
FREE course: Write Speech and Language Reports Like a Boss