Measurable outcomes of instructions to modify normal parent-child verbal interactions: implications for indirect stuttering therapy.

This study was a preliminary analysis of the differential effects of instructions to slow maternal speech rate, or to slow and simplify maternal speech when conversing with normally fluent children. Twenty mothers and their normally fluent children participated. Instructions to slow maternal rate resulted in maternal speech simplification as a by-product. No significant differences were found between the effects of the two sets of instructions. Furthermore, children's speech rate and language complexity did not parallel maternal adjustments. These last findings are problematic for some of the premises that underlie the use of parental counseling as a component of indirect therapy for stuttering.