Audit of outcomes from pre-school stammering intervention in a defined catchment population in the west of Ireland.

We have carried out an audit of outcomes from a pre-school stammering intervention offered to all 64 children, aged under 5 years referred from a defined catchment population to a single speech and language therapist over an 11 year period (1993 -2003 inclusive). Therapy was based on a client centred eclectic approach which combines elements of direct therapy focused on the child's speech and a number of indirect approaches to treatment which focus on changing the child's environment. Follow-up was conducted by means of a short questionnaire to the parents. Non responders were assessed informally by a school nurse with responsibility for the clinic catchment area. Questionnaires were returned for 46 of the 64 children in the audit, of whom 43 were reported as not stammering, 2 with persistent stammer and there was one child with missing data on fluency status. No stammering was detected by the school nurse in the 18 non-respondents. Thus 61 of the 63 children (97%; 95% C.I. 88.9% to 99.6%) with documented fluency status were reported as free of stammer at follow-up. These outcomes exceed natural recovery rates and highlight the importance of early referral of children with pre-school stammering to a specialist speech and language clinic