Two-year follow-up of the Lidcombe Program in ten Swedish-speaking children.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this semicontrolled prospective study was to report on the outcomes of 10 Swedish-speaking children treated with the Lidcombe Program and how the parents viewed the treatment.

METHOD: Ten children at an age from 2:9 to 5:8 (years:months) referred to two clinics for communication disorders were consecutively included in the study. The children had been stuttering for 0:9 to 3:3 with a mean stuttering frequency of 10.1% syllables stuttered (%SS; 0.8-33.9) before treatment. Parents and teachers filled out questionnaires concerning the children's speech and the parents also answered questions on their views on the program.

RESULTS

Eight children completed the program and were reassessed upon completion of the program, about 2 years after progressing to stage 2. There was a significant decrease in mean %SS before and after treatment (7.6 vs. 0.1%, respectively) with a large Cohen effect size (d = 2.9). Parents and teachers found that the treatment had a positive effect on the children's stuttering and all parents would recommend the Lidcombe Program to other families.

CONCLUSION

The results of this preliminary study suggest that the Lidcombe Program can be an effective treatment for Swedish-speaking preschool children who stutter.