A CONTROLLED CLINICAL-TRIAL FOR STUTTERING IN PERSONS AGED 9 TO 14 YEARS

This paper presents the results of a controlled trial of child stutter ing treatment. The aim of the study was, first, to compare the effecti veness of three viable treatments, and, second, to compare these three treatments to a no-treatment control composed of children who stutter ed of a similar age and sex ratio who were on treatment waiting lists. The three treatments investigated included intensive smooth speech, i ntensive electromyography feedback, and home-based smooth speech. The children/adolescents were assessed across three speaking contexts on m easures of percentage syllables stuttered (%SS) and syllables spoken p er minute (SPM) and outcomes were assessed 12 months later. Repeated m easures analyses of variance demonstrated significant differences betw een the control group and all three treatment groups across time on co nversations in;the clinic, on the telephone, and at home (although hom e measures were not taken for the intensive smooth speech group). Alth ough the controls' stuttering did not change across time, the treatmen t groups' stuttering was decreased to very low levels posttreatment (l ess than 1% syllables stuttered on average), with mean improvement in stuttering frequency of at least 85% to 90% across all assessment cont exts. Stuttering did not increase significantly up to 3 months and one year posttreatment in the experimental groups, although levels did ri se across time (less than 3% syllables stuttered on average). Speech n aturalness results showed increasing naturalness across time as rated by the clinician and parent. This was not the case for the controls. T he children were also less anxious across time following treatment. Th e results suggest that all three treatments for children aged 9-14 who stutter were very successful in the long term for over 70% of the gro up, though the EMG feedback and home-based treatments were superior wh en percentages falling below a cutoff point (2%SS) were used to discri minate between groups. Implications for child/adolescent treatment in the community are discussed. Long-term outcomes will be assessed up to 5 years after the treatment.