Therapy planning for school-age children who stutter

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Child Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Stuttering significantly impacts a child's academic and social-emotional development.
• Therapy planning for childhood stuttering requires a holistic approach considering multiple perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline principles for creating individualized, educationally relevant speech therapy plans for school-age children who stutter.
• To present collaborative tools for prioritizing therapy needs.
• To offer strategies for overcoming challenges in therapy planning and goal setting.

Main Methods:

• Review of principles for developing therapy plans.
• Presentation of collaborative planning tools for Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams.
• Inclusion of strategies for addressing specific challenges in therapy planning.

Main Results:

• Therapy goals should be individualized, educationally relevant, and lead to functional, lasting outcomes.
• Collaborative tools help prioritize behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of stuttering.
• Effective strategies address challenges in planning and goal setting for children who stutter.

Conclusions:

• Individualized, collaborative, and functional goal setting is crucial for successful speech therapy in children who stutter.
• Addressing the multifaceted nature of stuttering leads to improved communication and positive self-perception.
• The presented principles and tools support IEP teams in developing effective stuttering therapy plans.