Targeting Communication Effectiveness in Adults Who Stutter

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of a treatment approach for adults who stutter that focuses on core communication competencies rather than attempt to modify speech fluency. Eleven adults who stutter completed a 12-week treatment program at The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Pre- and posttreatment measures included (a) self-reported cognitive and affective aspects of stuttering (Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering [OASES], Self-Perceived Communication Competence [SPCC], Devereux Adult Resilience Survey [DARS], and Self-Compassion Scale [SCS]) and (b) ratings of 9 core communication competencies by an unfamiliar clinician blind to pre/posttreatment status. Participants reported significant mitigation of the adverse impact of stuttering (OASES) and greater resilience (DARS) after treatment. Participants also demonstrated significant gains in 8 of the 9 clinician-perceived communication competencies. Lower pretreatment stuttering frequencies were not significantly associated with posttreatment gains in clinician-perceived communication competencies. Preliminary findings suggest that, similar to findings for children and adolescents who stutter in previous studies, significant psychosocial and communicative benefit can be obtained for adults who stutter following treatment designed to focus on communication effectiveness rather than fluency, and that these gains are not contingent on the participants' stuttering frequency prior to enrollment.