A Telehealth Adaptation Of A Treatment For Chronic Stuttering
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,400.00
Summary
Stuttering can have devastating effects on psychological development, social adjustment, and the realisation of educational and vocational potential. Best practice treatments for chronic stuttering in adulthood and late adolescence stop or reduce stuttering with a systematic process of speech restructuring. However, speech restructuring treatment for chronic stuttering is specialised and resource intensive. Probably half of Australians with chronic stuttering cannot access such specialised treat ....Stuttering can have devastating effects on psychological development, social adjustment, and the realisation of educational and vocational potential. Best practice treatments for chronic stuttering in adulthood and late adolescence stop or reduce stuttering with a systematic process of speech restructuring. However, speech restructuring treatment for chronic stuttering is specialised and resource intensive. Probably half of Australians with chronic stuttering cannot access such specialised treatment services because of distance and lifestyle factors, and because clinicians do not have the resources to provide the treatment. These problems present a research challenge. The present project aims to meet this challenge by developing an innovative treatment model for adults who stutter based on telehealth. This treatment model will make the treatment accessible to all rural and urban dwelling patients with chronic stuttering, and will make the treatment deliverable by every clinician. The research will have significant impact for many end users.Read moreRead less
The Effects Of Treating Comorbid Social Phobia In Adults Who Stutter
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$196,245.00
Summary
Stuttering is a distressing and common speech disorder that prevents normal communication, hinders attainment of occupational potential, and can cause a lifetime of embarrassment and anxiety in everyday speaking situations. Around half of all adults who stutter have a condition called social phobia, which involves excessive anxiety in social situations. This is an important observation, because it is well known that treatments for adults who stutter are not particularly effective for some patien ....Stuttering is a distressing and common speech disorder that prevents normal communication, hinders attainment of occupational potential, and can cause a lifetime of embarrassment and anxiety in everyday speaking situations. Around half of all adults who stutter have a condition called social phobia, which involves excessive anxiety in social situations. This is an important observation, because it is well known that treatments for adults who stutter are not particularly effective for some patients. In this research project, we investigate the possibility that this is because existing treatments have not addressed the fact that many adults who stutter have levels of social anxiety in everyday speaking situations. In this experiment, half the subjects receive a standard treatment and the other half receive a standard treatment plus cognitive behaviour therapy designed to alleviate their social anxiety.Read moreRead less
Randomised Control Trial Of Three Treatments For Adolescent Stutterers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$376,320.00
Summary
Effective communication is an essential of everyday life, and stuttering impairs this function. Those who stutter may find effective communication impossible, and severe cases may be rendered almost mute. Clinically significant anxiety figures prominently in the disorder with almost half of those seeking treatment warranting a comorbid diagnosis of social phobia. The adolescent years are generally regarded as a difficult time of life, at which time the potential effects of disfigured speech can ....Effective communication is an essential of everyday life, and stuttering impairs this function. Those who stutter may find effective communication impossible, and severe cases may be rendered almost mute. Clinically significant anxiety figures prominently in the disorder with almost half of those seeking treatment warranting a comorbid diagnosis of social phobia. The adolescent years are generally regarded as a difficult time of life, at which time the potential effects of disfigured speech can be devastating. There has been much research and development of treatments for children and adults who stutter, proven effective treatments are available for those age groups. However, little is known about how to treat adolescents who stutter, and there has been little research and development to find the best treatment-s for this age group. The present proposal is for a randomised, controlled trial of three treatments that have been shown recently to have promise as treatment methods for this age group of patients. The trial will compare (1) a treatment that involves biofeedback muscle activity during speech, (2) a treatment that involves biofeedback of voice box activity during speech, and (3) a variant of a standard treatment that trains the speaker in a new speech pattern. The control group will receive no treatment. The trial extends for a period of 12 months after the subjects are randomly allocated to a treatment group or a control group. The subjects' speech will be assessed in a variety of situations in the clinic and during everyday life. The prime outcome measure will be percentage of syllables stuttered, and secondary measures will be the time required for treatment and how natural the patients sound after treatment. At the conclusion of the trial, the subjects in the control group will be given the treatment that was shown to be most effective.Read moreRead less
Effective communication is an essential of everyday life, and stuttering impairs this function. Stuttering has been shown to cause social maladjustment and to hinder attainment of occupational potential. There is an effective treatment available for preschool children who stutter, and this treatment can prevent the problems of stuttering later in life. The treatment depends on regular, weekly, face-to-face sessions with a speech pathologist. However, thirty percent of Australian children live ru ....Effective communication is an essential of everyday life, and stuttering impairs this function. Stuttering has been shown to cause social maladjustment and to hinder attainment of occupational potential. There is an effective treatment available for preschool children who stutter, and this treatment can prevent the problems of stuttering later in life. The treatment depends on regular, weekly, face-to-face sessions with a speech pathologist. However, thirty percent of Australian children live rurally, and are receiving inadequate access to this important health service. This research is a randomised controlled trial of a telehealth intervention for early stuttering. The telehealth intervention is a new procedure where the speech pathologist uses the telephone and other communication methods to deliver the treatment to isolated families with a stuttering child.Read moreRead less
Randomised Trial Of An Innovative Treatment For Early Stuttering.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$482,568.00
Summary
Stuttering begins early in life and has destructive effects on human development. These include failure to attain occupational potential and psychiatric illness. This project is a clinical trial to compare a new treatment with best practice. The new treatment has many potential benefits. It is simpler and may take less time, and can be used more easily by clinicians.