Practice for adolescent stuttering: a review of medical records from a Swedish cohort

Background: Stuttering, during adolescence, may influence adult life. However, little is known about currently applied clinical procedures for assessment and treatment of stuttering in adolescence.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate clinicians' assessment and intervention routines and if choice of intervention was related to factors such as age, gender, or stuttering severity.

Method: Medical records from 51 adolescents who had visited a Speech and Language Therapy clinic were included. Group differences were analysed through nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and correlations through Spearman's correlation test.

Results and conclusions: Most of the participants were assessed through subjective severity ratings or descriptions in free text and no formal treatment evaluation was performed. All participants received treatment in line with evidenced based practice for adults who stutter. There was a significant difference in number of sessions related to gender and overt stuttering severity but not to age. The clinicians rely on their clinical expertise regarding assessment of overt symptoms and impact of stuttering which may be a deliberate choice related to the need of their clients and ethical considerations. The inconsistent use of assessment tools hindered treatment evaluation, which is desirable to ensure optimal care.