Effectiveness of Fluency Shaping Technique and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Children with Stuttering

Abstract

Aim: The examination of fluency shaping techniques, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and approaches that combine these two techniques in children with stuttering. Method: 45 school-aged children with stuttering were included in this study (mean age: 9.42±1.86 years; min-max: 7-12 years). Participants were randomly assigned to three groups. Group-I received the fluency shaping technique, Group-II received cognitive behavioural therapy, and Group-III received a therapeutic method combining these two techniques for 8 weeks. The participants were administered the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-Child Version (RCADS), the General Health-Related Quality of Life Scale for Children (Kid-KINDL), and stuttering severity assessment (SSA) before therapy (pre-test), after therapy (post-test), and one month later (follow-up test). Results: Statistically significant differences were found between Group-I and Group-III in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test in the inter-group comparisons of SSA (p<0.001) and RCADS (p=0.001). In the comparison of the tests performed in three time periods in Group-II, no significant difference was found in SSA (p=0.14), but a significant difference was found in the results of the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test of the RCADS (p=0.01). No significant difference was found in the Kid-KINDL quality of life scale in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up tests in all three groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study compared the effectiveness of therapy methods for school-aged children with stuttering. It has demonstrated the effects of the fluency shaping technique, cognitive behavioral therapy, and the combined application of these two techniques on stuttering severity, anxiety, and quality of life. The study's results contribute to the development of individualized and comprehensive therapy programs for children with stuttering and offer new perspectives in speech therapy practice. It is thought that the results of therapeutic intervention programs for school-age children with stuttering will contribute to examining the results from a broad perspective.

Keywords

• Speech
• stuttering
• speech disorders
• quality of life

Kekemeliği Olan Çocuklarda Akıcılık Şekillendirme Tekniği ve Bilişsel Davranışçı Terapi Etkinliği

Abstract

Amaç: Kekemeliği olan çocuklarda akıcılık şekillendirme tekniği, bilişsel davranışçı terapi ve bu iki tekniğin birlikte uygulandığı yaklaşımların incelenmesidir. Yöntem: Bu çalışmaya kekemeliği olan 45 okul çağındaki çocuk dahil edilmiştir (Ort yaş: 9,42±1,86 yıl; Min-Maks: 7-12 yıl). Katılımcılar rastgele şekilde üç gruba atanmıştır. Grup-I’e akıcılık şekillendirme tekniği, Grup-II’ye bilişsel davranışçı terapi, Grup-III’e bu iki tekniğin birlikte uygulanmasını içeren terapötik yöntemler 8 hafta uygulanmıştır. Katılımcılara terapi öncesi (ön test), terapi sonrası (son test) ve bir ay sonra (takip testi) Çocuklarda Anksiyete ve Depresyon Ölçeği – Yenilenmiş (ÇADÖ-Y), Çocuklar için Genel Amaçlı Sağlıkla ilgili Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği (Kid-KINDL) ve kekemelik şiddet değerlendirmesi (KŞD) uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Grup-I ve Grup-III ön test, son test ve takip testi grup içi karşılaştırmada KŞD (p<0,001), ÇADÖ-Y (p=0,001) istatiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmuştur. Grup-II’de üç zaman diliminde yapılan testlerin karşılaştırmasında KŞD anlamlı farklılık bulunamamıştır (p=0,14) ancak ÇADÖ-Y (p=0,01) ön test, son test ve takip testi sonuçlarında anlamlı düzeyde farklılık saptanmıştır. Her üç grupta Kid-KINDL yaşam kalitesi ölçeğinde ön test, son test ve takip testinde anlamlı farklılık saptanmamıştır (p>0,05). Sonuç: Bu çalışma, kekemeliği olan okul çağı çocuklarına yönelik terapi yöntemlerini karşılaştırmıştır. Akıcılık şekillendirme tekniği, bilişsel davranışçı terapi ve bu iki tekniğin birlikte uygulanmasının kekemelik şiddeti, anksiyete ve yaşam kalitesi üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya koymuştur. Araştırma sonuçları, kekemeliği olan çocuklara yönelik bireyselleştirilmiş ve kapsamlı terapi programlarının geliştirilmesine katkıda bulunarak, konuşma terapisi uygulamalarında yeni perspektifler sunmaktadır. Kekemeliği olan okul çağı çocuklar için terapötik müdahale sonuçlarının geniş açı ile incelenmesi literatüre katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• Konuşma
• kekemelik
• konuşma terapisi
• yaşam kalitesi

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