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From: Charlie Healey
Date: 17 Oct 2007
Time: 20:56:25 -0500
Remote Name: 76.84.69.211
Rebecca: You ask a good question and one that many clinicians have asked me over the past few years. I have seen a few clients who have the speech easy, they are all adults, and they no longer use it. They find that it works for awhile but the effects don't last for more than a few months. Is that to say it doesn't work for everyone?...the answer is no. It does work for some, particularly for those who use it on specific occasions and learn how to duplicate behaviorally the speech patterns that are induced by the speech easy. Recent studies on the effectiveness of the device show that the device probably doesn't do what it claims to do...give people long term fluency. That is what I caution people about when they ask me if they should look into it. I have a little piece about the pros and cons of the device on my website at www.unl.edu/fluency.shtml so you might want to check that out on the Clinicians page. In all, the device works for some but not all and it can be an adjunct to our behavioral methods used to treat stuttering. It just doesn't seem to have the long term benefits that it claims to have and I have not seen it work for any client I have treated...and I truly have kept an open mind toward the device. And, one other thing. The evidence is that it probably doesn't work for children who stutter and I would never recommend it for anyone less than 15 years of age. Hope this answers your question and thanks for reading my article