Ar. Craig et M. Kearns, RESULTS OF A TRADITIONAL ACUPUNCTURE INTERVENTION FOR STUTTERING, Journal of speech and hearing research, 38(3), 1995, pp. 572-578
It is important that researchers investigate alternative strategies fo
r treating stuttering, as contemporary treatments are not entirely suc
cessful in reducing stuttering with all people. Furthermore, many who
have been ''successfully'' treated suffer from high relapse rates in t
he long term. Acupuncture has been shown to be a promising treatment f
or several diverse disorders, so a pilot investigation into its effect
iveness for stuttering was considered worthwhile. This study investiga
ted traditional acupuncture-based treatments for two adult males who h
ad stuttered since childhood. A single-case experimental ABAB multiple
baseline design was employed to test for treatment effectiveness. Sub
jects were followed up for a further 12 weeks to evaluate maintenance
(C phase) of possible improvements. No significant ABAB reversal effec
ts were observed, and stuttering frequency through the treatment phase
s remained at baseline levels for the two subjects. Speech rate also r
emained at baseline levels throughout the treatment phases, as did nat
uralness of speech and anxiety levels. This research is important as c
laims that acupuncture may successfully reduce stuttering need to be t
ested, and the scope and usefulness of treatments like acupuncture for
a wide variety of problems needs to be determined. However, the low s
ubject numbers involved suggest caution in concluding acupuncture is n
ot a successful intervention for stuttering. Perhaps alternative acupu
ncture points need to be evaluated and a wider variety of persons who
stutter need to be involved in any future research.