Treatment for Stuttering in Preschool-Age Children: A Qualitative Document Analysis of Treatment Programs.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify commonalities and differences between content components in stuttering treatment programs for preschool-age children. METHOD: In this document analysis, a thematic analysis of the content was conducted of handbooks and manuals describing Early Childhood Stuttering Therapy, the Lidcombe Program, Mini-KIDS, Palin Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, RESTART Demands and Capacities Model Method, and the Westmead Program. First, a theoretical framework defining a content component in treatment was developed. Second, we coded and categorized the data following the procedure of reflexive thematic analysis. In addition, the first authors of the treatment documents have reviewed the findings in this study, and their feedback has been analyzed and taken into consideration. RESULTS: Sixty-one content components within the seven themes-interaction, coping, reactions, everyday life, information, language, and speech-were identified across the treatment programs. The content component SLP providing information about the child's stuttering was identified across all treatment programs. All programs are multithematic, and no treatment program has a single focus on speech, language, or parent-child interaction. A comparison of the programs with equal treatment goals highlighted more commonalities in content components across the programs. The differences between the treatment programs were evident in both the number of content components that varied from seven to 39 and the content included in each treatment program. CONCLUSIONS: Only one common content component was identified across programs, and the number and types of components vary widely. The role that the common content component plays in treatment effects is discussed, alongside implications for research and clinical practice. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25457929.

Early Childhood Professionals' Management of Young Children Who Stutter: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE: Early childhood professionals must accurately identify, refer, and treat children who stutter (CWS) within the scope of their respective roles to ensure each child receives the best possible care. This study aimed to investigate similarities and differences between the practices of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), preschool teachers, and public health nurses when they initially meet a young child reported as stuttering. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Norway. A sample of 342 early childhood professionals (126 preschool teachers, 95 public health nurses, and 121 SLPs) completed an online survey about their management practices with young children reported as stuttering. Descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, and chi-square analyses were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Initial management practices reflected the different roles and competencies of each profession. Less than 15% of SLPs reported they have access to guidelines for working with CWS. This figure was even lower for public health nurses (6.5%) and preschool teachers (12%). The most common recommendations provided to parents by all professions was giving the child time to talk and maintaining eye contact. Each profession's referral for further speech-language pathology management was most commonly influenced by stuttering severity. All professions reported collaborating about management of CWS; the most common reported collaboration was with preschool teachers. CONCLUSIONS: Initial management practices varied between professions; however, differences largely reflected the roles and competencies of each profession. The development of guidelines and interdisciplinary seminars is recommended to develop a more complementary approach across professions to improve management practices and ensure young CWS receive the best possible care.

Parents' Perceptions of the Overall Impact of Stuttering on Young Children.

Introduction Research has revealed the presence of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive reactions in young children who stutter; however, prior studies have not examined the overall impact of stuttering on young children's lives. Such information is necessary for improving understanding of how stuttering affects young children and for ensuring appropriate early intervention. Method This study employed an adaptation of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering for School-Age Children that was designed to ask parents about their perceptions of the impact of stuttering on their young children. Thirty-eight parents of young children who stutter (2-5 years of age) provided their perceptions of the impact of stuttering on their children. Parents rated how certain they were in their judgments using a 5-point scale to provide an indication of their confidence in proxy ratings of impact. Results Results indicated that, on average, parents perceived that stuttering affected their children negatively. Qualitatively, parents provided descriptions of the impact of stuttering on their children's quality of life, communication difficulties across people and situations, and reactions to stuttering; they also commented on their own feelings and strategies for handling impact. On average, parents perceived themselves to be certain in rating the impact of stuttering on their children. Conclusions Results indicated that parents identified adverse impact in their children's lives. Even though parents considered themselves to be certain in their impact ratings, clinicians and researchers should also assess the perspective of the children if appropriate. This is because present findings reveal that parents may not have insight into all aspects of impact, in particular, cognitive reactions to stuttering. Still, parents' perceptions of impact are important for clinicians to consider when giving recommendations for therapy, as they can provide important insight into the family's needs.