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From: Ann Packman
Date: 10/17/03
Time: 1:31:56 AM
Remote Name: 129.78.64.100
These are difficult questions! I will preface my answer with two points. First, I stress that we cannot know in advance whether an individual preschooler will—or will not—recover naturally. Second, my answer relates to intervention with Lidcombe Program, which would be the treatment of choice for me.
Now, to the scenario you raise. Parents who want treatment immediately are usually persuaded by the research evidence that shows that waiting for up to one year is unlikely to reduce the child’s responsiveness to the Lidcombe Program, and in fact may increase it. If parents continue in the face of this evidence to insist on immediate treament, it would explore their reasons for this. In my view it is preferable to do everything possible to allay parental anxieties than to implement the Program unneccessarily. However, as I have said, every child and family are different and individual circumstances must be taken into account in deciding when to implement treatment for preschoolers who stutter.