An Evaluation of an Integrated Stuttering and Parent-Administered Self-Regulation Program for Early Developmental Stuttering Disorders

Abstract

Purpose This study reports findings from a clinical trial that implemented an early stuttering treatment program integrated with evidence-based parenting support (EBPS) to children who stutter (CWS) with concomitant self-regulation challenges manifested in elevated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (eADHD) symptoms and compared those outcomes to CWS receiving stuttering treatment without EBPS. Method Participants were 76 preschool CWS and their parent(s). Thirty-six of these children presented with eADHD and were quasirandomized into two groups: stuttering treatment only (eADHD standard ) or stuttering treatment integrated with EBPS (eADHD integrated ). The remaining children did not meet criteria for eADHD symptoms and received stuttering treatment only (No-eADHD standard ). Pre, post, and 3-month follow-up measures of stuttering treatment outcomes as well as treatment effects on measures of child behavior difficulties and parenting practices were examined. Results Significant reduction in stuttering was found for all groups. However, the eADHD integrated group showed a greater reduction in stuttering frequency than the eADHD standard group, and at follow-up, stuttering frequencies in the eADHD integrated group matched those of children in the No-eADHD standard group, while stuttering in the eADHD standard group remained significantly higher. Children with eADHD symptoms who received the integrated program also required significantly less stuttering intervention time than those children with eADHD symptoms who received stuttering treatment only. Families in the eADHD integrated group reported large and significant improvements in child behavior and parenting practices. Conclusion This study provides support for an early treatment program for CWS. The integrated stuttering and self-regulation management program for CWS with eADHD symptoms proved successful for fluency and behavioral improvements, which were sustained at follow-up.