Background: While evidence-based practice is widely endorsed by researchers, clinicians and professional bodies as a guiding framework for the provision of quality care to clients, the reliance on efficacy evidence may overshadow the benefits of other knowledge forms in supporting intervention design and evaluation. Due consideration needs to be…

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of a treatment approach for adults who stutter that focuses on core communication competencies rather than attempt to modify speech fluency. Eleven adults who stutter completed a 12-week treatment program at The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Pre- and…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether adults who stutter (AWS) display a different range of sensitivity to delayed auditory feedback (DAF). Two experiments were conducted to assess the fluency of AWS under long-latency DAF and to test the effect of short-latency DAF on speech kinematic variability in AWS. Method: In Experiment 1,…

Purpose: iGlebe is an individualized, fully automated Internet cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) treatment program that requires no clinician contact. Phase I and II trials have demonstrated that it may be efficacious for treating the social anxiety commonly associated with stuttering. The present trial sought to establish whether the outcomes…

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefit of devices delivering altered auditory feedback (AAF) as a therapeutic alternative for those who stutter. Aims: The effectiveness of a device delivering AAF (SpeechEasy®) was compared with behavioural techniques in the treatment of stuttering in a randomized clinical trial. Methods &…

Purpose: Two stuttering measurement training programs currently used for training clinicians were evaluated for their efficacy in improving the accuracy of total stuttering event counting. Method: Four groups, each with 12 randomly allocated participants, completed a pretest-posttest design training study. They were evaluated by their counts of…

Background: Overt stuttering is inhibited by approximately 80% when people who stutter read aloud as they hear an altered form of their speech feedback to them. However, levels of stuttering inhibition vary from 60% to 100% depending on speaking situation and signal presentation. For example, binaural presentations of delayed auditory feedback…

Stuttering and autism can co-occur and when they do it presents a significant communication challenge. This study examined the effectiveness of a modified version of the fluency rules program (FRP; Runyan and Runyan, Stuttering and related disorders of fluency, in 2007) to reduce stuttering frequency in a man with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).…

The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy group intervention program for adults who stutter (N = 20). The program consisted of 2-h therapeutic sessions conducted weekly for eight consecutive weeks. It was an integrated program designed to improve: (a) psychosocial functioning, (b)…

Although persistent developmental stuttering is known to affect daily living, just how great the impact is remains unclear. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying mechanisms which lead to a diminished quality of life (QoL). The primary objective of this study is to explore to what extent QoL is impaired in adults who stutter (AWS). In…

Purpose: This Phase I trial investigated the viability of telehealth delivery of the Camperdown Program with adults who stutter. This program involves speech restructuring. Method: All treatment was conducted remotely with participant-clinician contact occurring by telephone and e-mail. Results: Ten adults completed the program. The group showed…

Background: Although there are treatments that can alleviate stuttering in adults for clinically significant periods, in Australia there are barriers to the accessibility and availability of best-practice treatment. Aims: This parallel group, non-inferiority randomized controlled trial with multiple blinded outcome assessments investigated whether…

Purpose: The aims of the present study were to (a) examine the rate of social phobia among adults who stutter, (b) study the effects of speech restructuring treatment on social anxiety, and (c) study the effects on anxiety and stuttering of a cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) package for social anxiety. Method: Thirty-two adults with chronic…

This study investigated the experiences of adults who have completed a course of therapy for stammering. The objective was to inform clinicians about the effect of therapy by listening to the client's own account of the experience after they had been discharged from therapy. The study involved individuals discussing their experiences and their…

A series of single-subject experiments evaluated the effects of frequency-altered auditory feedback (FAF) on the speech performance of four adult males who stutter. FAF was compared with normal auditory feedback in oral reading and spontaneous speech. Results indicate no consistencies across subjects in responses to FAF. (Author/CR)