Behavioral stuttering interventions for children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral interventions designed to treat stuttering in children.

METHOD: Studies were included for review if (a) the treatment was a behavioral intervention, (b) participants were between 2 and 18 years old, (c) the design was an experimental or quasi-experimental group design, and (d) the reported outcome measure assessed stuttering. An electronic search of 8 databases yielded a total of 9 studies, representing 327 treated participants across 7 different intervention types. Data were extracted for participant, treatment, and outcome characteristics as well as for methodological quality.

RESULTS

An analysis of the treatment effects yielded significant positive effects approaching 1 SD when compared with a nontreatment control group. No significant differences emerged for studies comparing 2 different treatments.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions drawn from the extant research suggest that data to support the efficacy of behavioral intervention in children exists for a limited number of intervention strategies, based on a meager number of methodologically acceptable studies.