'Un-cemented words' : school-age children who stutter : feelings and attitudes following a thinking skills programme

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore shifts in the feelings, attitudes and frequency of dysfluency in school-age children who stutter following a thinking skills programme. Thirty school children who stutter aged 8 - 12 years attending speech language clinics in Malta were recruited to participate in the study. Fifteen children who stutter (experimental group) followed the thinking skills programme while the other fifteen children (control group) were placed on a delayed programme list. Results indicated that: a) a more positive attitude to communication with a significantly lower score (p < 0.05) on the Communication Attitude Test (CAT) (Brutten, 2004a) was recorded by the children who stutter in the experimental group, b) no significant interaction effect (p > 0.05) was recorded in the Speech Situation Checklist- Emotional Reaction (SSC-ER) (Brutten, 2004b) pre- and post- programme scores of the children in the experimental group and control group, c) a strong positive correlation between the pre- and post- Speech Situation Checklist Emotional Reaction (SSC-ER) (Brutten, 2004b) scores of the control group (r= 0.96; p < 0.01) and experimental group (r= 0.72; p < 0.01) was indicated, iii d) no significant interaction effect (p > 0.05) was recorded in the percentage frequency of dysfluency (reading) pre- and post-programme scores of the children in the experimental group and control group, e) no significant interaction effect (p > 0.05) was noted in the number of words used in the self-character sketch pre- and post-programme of the children in the experimental group and control group, f) elaboration, with increased self-construing statements, was noted in the post-programme self-character sketches of the majority of children who stutter following the thinking skills programme, g) feedback, by all contributing to this study, indicated that parental involvement is considered to be an essential component in stuttering intervention. These findings are related to previous research and discussed together with limitations and suggestions for future research. A stuttering intervention strategy for school-age children who stutter is suggested.