The efficacy of stuttering measurement training: evaluating two training programs.

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Clinical audiology
• Communication sciences and disorders

Background:

• Accurate stuttering event counting is crucial for effective clinical assessment and treatment.
• Existing training programs for clinicians vary in their efficacy.
• Standardized measurement tools are needed to improve reliability in stuttering research and practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of two stuttering measurement training programs: Stuttering Measurement System (SMS) and Stuttering Measurement Assessment and Training (SMAAT).
• To determine the impact of these programs on the accuracy of total stuttering event counting by clinicians.

Main Methods:

• A pretest-posttest training study involving four groups of 12 participants each.
• Participants were randomly allocated to receive training via SMS, SMAAT, or no training.
• Accuracy was measured by counting stuttering events on audiovisual speech samples from individuals who stutter.

Main Results:

• Both SMS-trained groups demonstrated a significant 34% improvement in stuttering event counting accuracy.
• The SMAAT program yielded mixed results, with only half of the participants showing improvement.
• SMS training showed a medium effect size, indicating a substantial improvement in accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The SMS program is an effective tool for enhancing the accuracy of stuttering event counts.
• The positive effects of SMS training were reliably replicated in a second group.
• Further research is needed to confirm the long-term durability of these improvements, but the findings underscore the value of stuttering measurement training.