The long term effectiveness of intensive stuttering therapy: a mixed methods study

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Stuttering therapy effectiveness is often evaluated through behavioral measures.
• Client-reported outcomes and long-term maintenance are crucial for assessing treatment success.
• Understanding client perceptions of intensive stuttering programs is vital for optimizing therapeutic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore client perceptions of an intensive, multi-faceted stuttering therapy program.
• To understand the factors contributing to long-term maintenance of therapeutic changes.
• To identify key elements clients associate with successful stuttering treatment.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods design incorporating phenomenological approach with semi-structured interviews.
• Concurrent collection of objective clinical data, including archival records and standardized assessments.
• Evaluation of stuttering severity and communication attitudes through validated measures.

Main Results:

• Key themes identified: program duration/nature, speech techniques, attitude change, desensitization, and transfer.
• Participants reported positive impacts from personal motivation and clinician attitudes.
• Objective data confirmed measurable clinical gains in stuttering severity and attitude, maintained post-program.

Conclusions:

• The intensive stuttering therapy program demonstrates effectiveness in improving speech disfluencies and communication attitudes.
• Client-reported factors, alongside program-specific elements, significantly contribute to treatment efficacy.
• Future research should integrate communication attitude and quality of life measures with behavioral outcomes.