Stutterers' perceptions of therapy improvement and of posttherapy regression: effects of certain program...

In an attempt to improve its effectiveness, a traditional, symptomatic stuttering therapy program for school-age children was modified to (1) focus more upon self-therapy activities while reducing group work emphasis; (2) specify more precisely the target responses used to replace stuttering; (3) establish clearly the criteria for client progress; and (4) provide well-defined activities for the transfer of speech change. Participants used a questionnaire to evaluate their improvement and post-therapy regression in various dimensions of stuttering severity, and results were compared with questionnaire findings from an earlier treatment program. Significantly greater improvement in speech fluency was perceived by the participants following the modified program, and follow-up videotape samples confirmed their perceptions as revealed on the questionnaire.