Treatment of stuttering in school-aged children using The Camperdown Program and The Happiness Trap Pocketbook

This project will collect outcome data for an individual treatment with supported self-help treatment. Treatment will involve student speech pathologists (supervised by the Clinical Educator who is also a member of the research team) facilitating the treatment. The treatment protocol involves teaching fluency techniques, addressing thoughts and feelings associated with stuttering, and individual goal setting. The individual treatment will be provided to 12 individuals using The Camperdown Program to address childhood stuttering and supported self-help using 'The Happiness Trap- Pocketbook Edition'. During the sessions with the student speech pathologists, participants will be taught prolonged speech techniques to control stuttering, using the Camperdown Program method. Participants will be assigned a chapter per night to read and complete the exercises in The Happiness Trap Pocketbook. The student speech pathologists will review The Happiness Trap Pocketbook exercises completed at home during the first third of the session, and spend the remainder of the session teaching and practising prolonged speech, and in later sessions, problem-solving transfer of skills beyond the clinic. In addition to completing the self-help exercises in The Happiness Trap Pocketbook, participants will also be requested to practise their prolonged speech technique between clinic visits. Outcome measures will be obtained on 4 separate occasions: pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, one month post-treatment and at a 9 month follow up session. Treatment occurs twice per week for a total of 3 weeks duration. Treatment will be provided face-to-face at one of three locations: the Flinders University Fluency Clinics (Women's and Children's Hospital or Flinders Medical Centre) or a private practice 'Swift Speech and Stuttering'. The treatment program will be based on standard care but will be personalised dependent on the child and family/caregiver's goals. Participants will complete a total of 10 study visits - one pre-treatment study visit, 6 treatment sessions (twice weekly for 3 weeks) and a further 3 post-treatment study visits immediately post-treatment, one month post-treatment and 9 months post-treatment.