The case of a 15-year-old stutterer is presented to illustrate A. Lazarus's multimodal behavior therapy model, proposed to integrate various procedures. A combination of role playing, metronome use, biofeedback training, and assertion training was used. (CL)

Voicing onset changes between control conditions and three fluency-evoking conditions (choral reading, delayed auditory feedback, and noise) were studied in 10 individuals who stutter and in 12 controls. Results indicate that although fluency-evoking conditions modified some voicing-onset behaviors, these modifications did not relate to…

Researchers studied the effects of self-modeling as an intervention for stuttering in school-aged students. Students viewed videotapes of themselves speaking fluently over a six-week period. All students evidenced a decrease in stuttering after viewing tapes. The increased fluency generalized to social settings. Results replicate those of an…

Guidelines for documenting treatment efficacy for young children who stutter are suggested and illustrated. Measures in four realms are delineated: (1) conditions of documentation, (2) dependent variables, (3) establishment of treatment integrity, and (4) verification of the relationship between treatment and outcome. (Author/DB)

This paper first reviews four classes of habit disorders in children: motor and vocal tics, nervous habits, stuttering, and Tourette's disorder. It then describes the habit reversal procedure and reviews the literature on its use and variations to treat each of the four classes of habit disorders. Emphasis is on simplified versions of the original…

This study of three males who stutter and two males with normal speech examined the effects of the Hollins Precision Fluency Shaping Program. Results indicate that the behavioral treatment was effective in changing the fluent speech of the subject with respect to respiration, laryngeal valving, and articulation. (Author/CR)

This study investigated changes in the speech patterns of young adult male subjects when stuttering was modified by deliberately prolonging speech. Three subjects showed clinically significant stuttering reductions when using prolonged speech to reduce their stuttering. Resulting speech was perceptually stutter free. Acoustic and…

Presents a rationale and methodology for a self-adjusting "fluency sensitive" approach to working with children who exhibit overt speech-fluency interruptions and a minimal amount of avoidance behavior. The approach emphasizes repeated experiences of volitional increases and decreases in loudness and pauses. Case examples demonstrate how several…

This volume examines the ramifications of individual differences in therapy outcomes for a wide variety of communication disorders. In an era where evidence-based practice is the clinical profession's watchword, each chapter attacks this highly relevant issue from a somewhat different perspective. In some areas of communication disorders,…

The article describes possible reasons, other than stuttering, for children's disfluent speech, presents typical case profiles for different types of disfluency, and suggests appropriate case management procedures. (Author/DB)

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)

Reports a long-term follow-up of the effects of self-modeling on the reduction of stuttering in two groups of students who initially evidenced different mean percentages of stuttered words. Results reveal that students involved in the initial study who initially exhibited substantially higher mean percentages of stuttered words, maintained their…

Eight children (ages 6-10) were given a simplified treatment program for stuttering which included awareness training, training a response incompatible with stuttering, and social support. The home treatment program was effective in reducing stuttering to less than 3% for all subjects. Maintenance of effects was seen at 10-13 months posttreatment.…

A recent forum in "JFD" (28/3, 2003) evaluated the status of evidence-based practice in fluency disorders, and offered recommendations for improvement. This article re-evaluates the level of support available for some popular approaches to stuttering therapy and questions the relative value placed on some types of programs endorsed by the forum.…

Four stutterers, aged 3-5, received treatment based on parent-administered, operant verbal stimulation. Data show that the intervention, coupled with a programed maintenance schedule, reduced stuttering and accompanied increases in syllable output. Findings suggest that cases of early stuttering might be managed effectively by parents, with…