Stamningsbehandling enligt Lidcombeprogrammet
En långtidsuppföljning av svensktalande förskolebarn
StutteringLidcombe ProgramSwedish preschool childrenEvaluation.StamningLidcombeprogrammetSvenska förskolebarnUtvärdering.
The aim of this paper is to study the long-term effects of stuttering treatment according to the Lidcombe Program in Sweden and to answer questions whether underlying factors may have affected the treatment results. Participants were seven children, one girl and six boys aged 7:10-14:2, who all completed Stage 1 of the program approximately 2-7 years ago.The children were video recorded during a conversation with one of the authors and while reading aloud. Before the recording, their parents estimated the level of stuttering according to a Severity Range (SR) Scale. The evaluations were used as reference for determining whether the recordings were representative for the children´s current speech fluency. Proportions of stuttered syllables (%SS) were calculated from the video recorded material and compared with the proportions of stuttered syllables (%SS) at the time when the first stage of the program was initiated.The results showed that the Lidcombe Program had a significant (z=-2.37, p=0.02) long term effect on stuttering treatment for the participants in this study. The effect size was calculated to 1.05, which indicates a large effect. No correlation between underlying factors and treatment results could be established at group level. However, the results showed differences among the participants and underlying factors as age at stuttering onset and age when treatment was introduced may have affected the treatment results.This is one of the very first long term follow-ups on Swedish preschool children that have been treated according to the Lidcombe Program and the authors hope to see further research.