How Simple Can a Treatment for Early Stuttering Be? A Proposed Two-Factor Early Intervention
Mark Onslow1, Anna Hearne1, Kun Yu2
1Australian Stuttering Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Insights
Early intervention for stuttering is crucial. New parent-led strategies, like reducing speech rate, show promise for children under three, paving the way for AI-driven treatments.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Pediatric audiology
Background:
- Stuttering onset frequently occurs before age three.
- Current interventions demand significant cognitive engagement, limiting their use in very young children.
- Limited clinical trial evidence exists for treating stuttering in children under three.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the need for immediate intervention following stuttering onset.
- To identify suitable interventions for preschool children who stutter.
- To propose a novel treatment protocol for early stuttering intervention.
Main Methods:
- Developed a clinical protocol based on parent speech rate reduction and increased interturn speaker latency.
- Demonstrated the clinical viability of the protocol with three young children who stuttered.
- Proposed AI-driven avatar clinicians for automated, globally accessible treatment.
Main Results:
- The developed clinical protocol proved viable in initial trials with three children.
- Parent-led strategies requiring minimal child cognitive engagement are suitable for immediate intervention.
- AI automation can enhance the global reach and scalability of stuttering treatment.
Conclusions:
- Parent-implemented strategies are effective for immediate stuttering intervention in very young children.
- AI-powered interventions offer a scalable solution for early stuttering treatment.
- The proposed protocol is a candidate for future clinical trials (Phases I-IV).
Purpose:
In this clinical focus article, we draw attention to the need for immediate intervention shortly after stuttering onset. More than half of stuttering onsets occur before 3 years of age. We argue that existing interventions for preschool children who stutter require varying levels of cognitive engagement from children; hence, they are not suitable for children of that age. For this reason, we argue that there is no clinical trials evidence for treatment efficacy with children younger than 3 years of age.
Conclusions:
There are many recommended parent strategies that do not require any active participation from children, which, therefore, may be suitable for immediate stuttering intervention. Two of these have laboratory support in their favor: parent speech rate reduction and increased interturn speaker latency. Therefore, we developed a clinical protocol based on those two parent strategies and showed the clinical viability of the protocol with three children who stuttered. We argue that automation of our proposed treatment with lifelike artificial intelligence-generated avatar clinicians will make it globally viable, and a suitable target for future Phases I-IV clinical trials.
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