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ABSTRACT: Purpose: This article describes different intervention approaches for preschool and school-age children who stutter, including the name of the approach and its components and limitations.
Method: A review of the literature was conducted to summarize and synthesize previously published research in the area of stuttering treatment. The goal of this literature review was to increase the clinician's knowledge base about different intervention approaches that are used with children who stutter. If a clinician has an extensive understanding of intervention techniques, then he or she can conduct well-developed therapy sessions.
Conclusion: Despite the increasing size of the literature in the area of stuttering, there remains a dire need for evidence-based intervention approaches.
KEY WORDS: stuttering, intervention approaches, preschool children, school-age children, literature review
This article summarizes the literature regarding different stuttering intervention approaches that have been used with preschool-age and early school-age children. The following information for each approach is presented: name, purpose, components, and limitations.
Stuttering treatment is a contentious issue for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and has posed a pressing challenge in the field of speech-language pathology for decades (J. C. Ingham & Riley, 1998; Yaruss, Coleman, & Hammer, 2006). There are many treatments for stuttering; however, there is little agreement as to which should be used and when treatment should begin (especially for preschool- and school-age children). Treatment for stuttering includes various techniques and methods: indirect and direct (R. J. Ingham & Cordes, 1998), stuttering modification (Guitar & Peters, 1980; Peters & Guitar, 1991), fluency shaping (Blomgren, Roy, Callister, & Merrill, 2005; Guitar, 1998), Lidcombe Program, altered auditory feedback (Armson & Stuart, 1998; Hargraves, Kalinowski, Stuart, Armson, & Jones, 1994; Howell, Sackin, & Williams, 1999; Van Borsel, Reunes, & Van den Bergh, 2003), self-modeling (Webber, Packman, & Onslow, 2004), and regulated breathing (Andrews & Tanner, 1982; Ladouceur, Cote, Leblond, & Bouchard, 1982; Woods & Twohig, 2000). Understanding the various treatment approaches can pose a challenge for clinicians. To properly select the appropriate treatment method, clinicians must have access to all of the treatment options. The purpose of this article is to review the various treatment methods used by clinicians to help treat preschool- and school-age children's stuttering.
A review of existing literature serves many functions, including summarizing findings, identifying consistencies and inconsistencies...