Speech-Language Pathologists' Practices Related to Evaluating Persistence Prognosis for Children Who Stutter: A Survey Study

Abstract

Purpose: Multiple studies and review papers have been published recently that provide recommendations to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) on how to assess young children who stutter and their likelihood of continuing to stutter or recovering naturally (i.e., prognosis). This study explored the current, self-reported evaluation practices of SLPs related to evaluating prognosis for a child who stutters. Method: Certified SLPs were recruited to complete an electronic questionnaire that focused on their experience, confidence, and practices evaluating preschool-aged children who stutter. Results: Findings, based on completed questionnaires from 87 SLPs, revealed that (a) assessing a child's chances of persisting is a common practice for many SLPs, (b) the types of information commonly collected during evaluations of young children, (c) the length SLPs typically spend on these evaluations (i.e., about an hour), and (d) SLPs' recommendations to caregivers influenced by a child's likelihood of persisting. Conclusions: SLPs are following many of the published recommendations for assessing preschoolers who stutter, including collecting risk factor information supported by empirical evidence and also valuing risk factors that have yet to receive much, if any, empirical exploration. Clinicians and researchers are encouraged to consider present findings when planning future work relative to evaluations of young children who stutter. Empirical evidence and clinical experience are, collectively, important sources of information in evidence-based practice.