Effects of the Lidcombe Program and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy on Stuttering Reduction in Preschool Children.

PURPOSE: The present study explored the effectiveness of the Lidcombe Program, the parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) approach, and an integrated (Lid-PCIT) program on the treatment of children who stutter.

METHODS: The present research was a single-subject study with an alternative treatment design. Participants were 6 preschool children who were randomly assigned into three groups. Each group received the entire indirect (PCIT), direct (Lidcombe), or integrated (Lid-PCIT) program and were assessed through severity rating (SR), and percent stuttered syllables (%SS), and video analysis.

RESULTS: For all children the SR and the %SS were reduced but the percentage of non-overlapping data of the three interventions showed that it was reduced more in the Lidcombe and in the Lid-PCIT programs.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provided preliminary evidence that Lidcombe, PCIT, and integrated programs were effective in reducing the SR and the %SS in preschool children who stutter. These results are potentially important as both indirect and direct interventions in the primary years can help children who stutter to overcome their disorder.