Stuttering/ Developmental
Conditions
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of concurrent transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and fluency training in adults with developmental stuttering. We examine the severity of stuttering to investigate the effect of treatnment. In the control group the anodal tDCS and DAF will applied on six consecutive days (1 milliampere \[mA\] for 20 mins per day), and the control group will received the sham stimulation and DAF for the same time. The severity of stuttering measured by means of tasks and questionnaires before and after treatment sessions and 6 weeks after intervention.
Interventions
DEVICEAnodal tDCS
1 mA anodal tDCS positioned over left superior temporal gyrus and the cathode placed over the occipital lobe. The tDCS stimulation will be delivered for 20 minutes on 6 intervention days.
BEHAVIORALfluency intervention/ Delayed Auditory Feedback
Each participant complete three tasks include reading, conversation, and narration. Delayed auditory feedback will be used during these tasks. Each treatment session will take 20 minutes.
DEVICESham tDCS
The anodal tDCS positioned over left superior temporal gyrus and the cathode placed over the occipital lobe. The current of sham stimulation will involve 30 seconds of stimulation at the beginning of the 20 minutes on 6 intervention days.
Sponsors
Iran University of Medical Sciences
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* History of developmental stuttering * Participants diagnosed with moderate to severe stuttering * Right handed * Native speaker of Farsi
Exclusion criteria
* Speech or language disorders other than stuttering * Received stuttering treatment within the past year * Hearing loss * History of neurological or psychiatric disorders * History of seizure * Taking any medication that may affect brain function such as anti-depressants
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mean score of percentage of Stuttered Syllables produced in the speech sample | Baselines, immediately post-treatment, 1-week post-treatment, 6-weeks post-treatment | Researcher will calculate the Percentage of Stuttered Syllables (SS %) in the speech sample. Lower percentage of Stuttered Syllables represents better outcomes. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mean score of the Stuttering Severity Instrument version 4 (SSI-4) | Baselines, immediately post-treatment, 1-week post-treatment, 6-weeks post-treatment | The Stuttering Severity Instrument (SSI-4) is a standardized measure of stuttering severity consist of of 3 subscales (frequency, duration and physical concomitants) which are summed to give a total score. The maximum total score of the SSI-4 is 56, which corresponds to the highest stuttering severity. So, lower score represents better outcomes. |
| Mean score of the Overall Assessment of Speakers Experience of Stuttering (OASES) | Baselines, immediately post-treatment, 1-week post-treatment, 6-weeks post-treatment | The OASES is a standardized assessment to measure the effect of stuttering on a person's life that consists of 4 subscales (general information about speech, your reactions to stuttering, communication in daily situations, quality of life). Each sub-test has a score from 1 to 5 in which the number 1 indicates the least negative impact and number 5 shows the most negative impact. These are combined to give a total impact score between 1 and 5, with 5 representing the highest negative impact on person's life. So, higher score represents better outcomes. |
Countries
Iran
Outcome results
None listed