Effectiveness of a modified version of airflow therapy: case studies

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Fluency Disorders

Background:

• Previous claims of high success rates for airflow therapy in stuttering treatment lack scientific documentation.
• Airflow therapy, including passive airflow and vowel elongation, has been proposed for stuttering modification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of a modified airflow therapy for adult stutterers.
• To determine the individual contributions of passive airflow and vowel elongation components to treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Two adult males with chronic stuttering participated in the study.
• Speech fluency was evaluated using reading and spontaneous speaking tasks before, during, and after treatment.
• Follow-up assessments were conducted 10 weeks post-treatment.

Main Results:

• Both participants demonstrated significant improvements in speech fluency during reading tasks, which were sustained at follow-up.
• Improvements in spontaneous speech were less pronounced and less durable compared to reading tasks.
• The combined effects of passive airflow and vowel elongation were cumulative, preventing the isolation of each component's specific impact.

Conclusions:

• Modified airflow therapy shows promise for improving reading fluency in stutterers, with sustained effects.
• The treatment's efficacy for spontaneous speech appears limited and less enduring.
• Future research should aim to differentiate the effectiveness of individual treatment components and explore long-term outcomes.