[ Contents | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Ann Packman
Date: 10/11/03
Time: 3:28:40 PM
Remote Name: 129.78.64.100
You ask some challenging questions! I will preface my response by saying that my answers relate to the Lidcombe Program, which is the treatment of choice for myself and my colleagues, and that where possible I draw on evidence rather than opinion.
Now, you ask if there are negative effects of starting therapy without a waiting period. Any treatment for young children who stutter is demanding on parents. Thus, it seems to me that imposing that demand immediately could be considered an unneccesary negative effect when there is a chance that the child will recover naturally. Of course, this only holds if waiting for some period for natural recovery to occur does not compromise the effectiveness of the treatment. And our research tells us that the effectiveness of the Lidcomnbe Program does not appear to be compromised by waiting for up to a year after onset.
I’m not sure how to respond to your second question about the child’s self-concept. We know from parental reports that children typically become more outgoing when they stop stuttering. So I would say that this reflects an improvement in their self-concept. Presumably, this also happens when they recover naturally. However, there is very little research to date on the social and psychological effects of stuttering on preschoolers. We are fortunate to have Marilyn Langevin working with us at The Australian Stuttering Research Centre, doing research into this very topic.
Finally, my colleagues tell me that some parents want treatment to be implemented immediately, but that they mostly are prepared to wait for a short period when they are told that this is very unlikely to jeopardise their child’s responsiveness to the Lidcombe Program.