The book on cluttering

In his book on cluttering Too fast for words Rutger Wilhelm describes the impactful struggle with his speech and the quest he went through to find out he does not stutter but clutter. 

Through striking and sometimes moving anecdotes he takes readers on an interesting voyage of discovery: What is cluttering? How does it differ from stuttering? What impact can it have on your life? And what can be done about it?

Book cluttering Too fast for words

Too fast for words: what’s in this book?

  • Easy read

  • Dozens of anecdotes from people who clutter

  • The discovery of cluttering

  • Why cluttering is rather unknown

  • How cluttering can affect your life

  • (Dealing with) reactions from others

  • Causes of cluttering

  • Cluttering symptoms

  • The essence of cluttering

  • The model of language production

  • Types of cluttering

  • The differences between stuttering and cluttering

  • Restraining and stimulating factors and situations

  • Cluttering and communicating with others

  • How to measure and analyze your speech

  • Tips, exercises, techniques and tools

  • Elements of treatment and treatment strategy

  • Dealing with (non)cluttering

  • More info and sources

Book cluttering: Too fast for words reviews

Just an excellent book on cluttering

Has anyone read Rutger Wilhelm’s excellent autobiography Too fast for Words? If not, grab your phone or run to your computer. Go to Amazon and order it! I’ve read it (obviously…) and can highly recommend it. As soon as I was done with it, I wrote a review for The Norwegian Association for Stuttering and Cluttering. I am a clutterer myself, so this is why this book is so important.

Story from a clutterer

There aren’t so many books on cluttering written by clutterers themselves (in fact, I don’t know about any other books). Too fast for words is a thorough description of the symptoms and various methods of getting help with them. But the important thing is once again that it is written by a person who has this speech problem, who is an “amateur” and not a Speech-Language Professional. The book is a gem. No offense to all the eminent professionals out there, but there is something about having the shoe on… ? The author does mention several methods and systems used by professionals, so they’re not left out in the cold. Nuff said. Buy it, read it, enjoy it, get wiser!

Ciel W.

Easy to follow book on cluttering

As a speech-language pathologist and researcher who has written and edited many publications on cluttering, I am thrilled to recommend this book. “Too fast for words” is written in a very easy to read and engaging format. You don’t need any background in cluttering to learn about the communication disorder from this book. This book helps you understand what the communication disorder cluttering is, and how it can be diagnosed, managed and treated. All through the perspective of a person who clutters himself. As a professional who does not clutter, I feel strongly that we learn the most from the stories of those who experience the symptoms themselves.

Good starting point

In this book, Rutger Wilhelm describes his experience, as well as the experiences of many others who clutter. Everyone’s experience is not the same, and it is important that the author does not portray a “one size fits all” explanation. For those who know they clutter, or important people in the lives of those who clutter, you may find validation of symptoms and/or the impact of cluttering on your daily lives. It is a good place to start understanding potential symptoms for those who suspect they may clutter. For professionals, this is a must read to understand such a misunderstood communication disorder. I highly recommend the book to my clients with cluttering, their family members, and speech-language pathologists. I will continue to recommend to educators and anyone who wants to learn more. The information and message it sends is so important. You don’t want to miss this book!

Kathleen Scaler

I was not sure what to expect when I ordered this book, but I am so happy I did. There are so many amazing stories with helpful advice. The book is written in a very easy to follow style. I recommend this book for schools, networking groups, and even book clubs. I feel anyone reading it will benefit from the information. Teachers should share this with their students early on, it would help them so much in their future lives. This book could be the best gift you could give and it could help change someone’s life.

Dona M.

This book is well written and helps those with cluttering relate! Cluttering is such an unusual and difficult disorder to understand and the author helps explain it with personal experiences.

Mary R.

Review from Magazine for Speech Therapy (February 2020) by the Dutch professional association for speech-language pathologists

This book definitely helps me in treating my clients. It gives so much more insight into the disorder and the impact it has on the lives of people who clutter. It also shows how important it is that the correct diagnosis is made. I highly recommended this piece of work!”

Marit V., speech-language pathologist

Rutger Wilhelm succeeds in giving a surprisingly complete picture of cluttering and cluttering therapy. Containing experiences and examples of both therapists and people who clutter the book is not a simple success story of someone who thinks he knows ‘the answer’ to cluttering, but a clear, comprehensive and informative story that fascinates from the beginning to the end. I hope every cluttering speaker will read this book, whether they have a stuttering component or not. As a speech-language therapist I also think it is a very nice book to read through the eyes of the cluttering speaker himself. It sure is a must-read for speech-language pathologists, too!

Wilma S., speech-language pathologist

Rutger cleverly describes his interesting journey of discovery and lets you be part of it completely. I recognize a lot in it, for example about the psychological effects of cluttering. It brought back a couple of painful memories. Good to understand cluttering a bit better, too! Beautiful book!

Mark F., person who clutters

The book Too Fast for Words is a real asset for people who clutter and their environment. Rutger Wilhelm describes the sometimes arduous quest for fluency very well and clearly. It is nice and instructive to read how, after he gains valuable insights in his own speech, he takes control of his own life. He also provides helpful tips and attention points for speech-language pathologists. Cluttering is definitely different from stuttering and needs a different approach. That is also true for clutter-stuttering.

Ilanda de D., speech-language pathologist

Author: Rutger Wilhelm
Title: Too fast for words
Subtitle: How discovering that I don’t stutter but clutter changed my life
Language: English
Type: paperback 176 pages

Publisher: Big Time Publishers
Print: First
Date of publication: November 2020
ISBN: 979 86 664 4439 9
Price: $22.99
Delivery: Online book stores

Rutger Wilhelm is Chair-Elect of the International Cluttering Association (ICA) and is also active in the consumer committee of that same organization. He is a regular (key note) speaker at international congresses. Next to that he is a board member of the Dutch stuttering association. Until recently he also served the board of  the International Stuttering Association (ISA).