At this time, for children under 6 years old, “the Lidcombe Program offers the best evidence for an effective intervention for children who stutter”

At this time, for children under 6 years old, “the Lidcombe Program offers the best evidence for an effective intervention for children who stutter”

I have just taken a look at this from The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website’s “Evidence Maps”. The statement is drawn from this article:

Behavioral Stuttering Interventions for Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Nye, C., Vanryckeghem, M., et al. (2013).

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 921-932.

This is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental design studies, investigating behavioral interventions in children and adolescents who stutter.

At this time, for children under 6 years old, “the Lidcombe program offers the best evidence for an effective intervention for CWS” (p. 931). Since this program is intended for very young children, it is not unexpected that it would be more effective compared with programs designed for older children and adolescents.? Other approaches may be effective, “but the available data only allow us to conclude that there is insufficient information using the highest research standards in the discipline” (p. 931).?

This is reassuring for parents and clinicians, alike, to know that the Lidcombe Program remains the only treatment for young stutterers that is backed up by evidence to prove that it is an effective treatment. I also look forward to and will welcome, similar research for other approaches. There is a lot of interesting and exciting research taking place in the field of stuttering. Watch out for more posts here!