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Eye movement as a simple, cost-effective tool for people who stutter: A case study
Hilary D-L McDonagh1, Patrick Broderick, Kenneth Monaghan
1Department of Health and Nutritional Science, Faculty of Science, Atlantic Technological University, Sligo. hilary.mcdonagh@research.atu.ie.
Summary
A novel stuttering therapy linking eye and tongue movements shows promise for remote delivery, improving outcomes for individuals with developmental stuttering. This approach addresses accessibility barriers in South Africa.
Area of Science:
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Neuroscience of Speech Production
- Telehealth Interventions
Background:
- Service accessibility is a major challenge for the South African stuttering community.
- A novel therapy leverages an unconscious link between eye and tongue movements for stuttering treatment.
- This approach is designed for easy online communication and delivery, overcoming geographical barriers.
Observation:
- A single-subject case study evaluated a new stuttering intervention.
- The intervention involved a 5-week training period with assessments at baseline, post-training, 3 months, and 24 months.
- Objective (SSI-4) and subjective (OASES-A, PAiS, SRSS) measures were used to assess stuttering components.
Findings:
- The participant demonstrated improvements across all objective and subjective measures.
- The participant found the intervention highly useful.
- No adverse effects were reported during the study.
Implications:
- This innovative stuttering therapy appears feasible and beneficial.
- The treatment's potential for remote delivery and easy translation offers a breakthrough for accessibility.
- Results support a pilot randomized controlled trial for further validation.
