title: Using syllable-timed speech to treat preschool children who stutter: a multiple baseline experiment.
abstract: This report presents the results of an experimental investigation of the effects of a syllable-timed speech treatment on three stuttering preschool children. Syllable-timed speech involves speaking with minimal differentiation in linguistic stress across syllables. Three children were studied in a multiple baseline across participants design, with percent syllables stuttered (%SS) as the dependent variable. In the week following the initial clinic visit, each child decreased their beyond-clinic stuttering by 40%, 49% and 32%, respectively. These reductions are only evident in the time series after the introduction of the syllable-timed speech treatment procedure. Participants required a mean of six clinic visits, of approximately 30-60 min in duration, to reach and sustain a beyond-clinic %SS below 1.0. The results suggest that clinical trials of the treatment are warranted.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The reader will be able to summarize, discuss and evaluate: (1) The nature, impact and treatment options available for early stuttering. (2) The syllable-timed speech treatment protocol administered. (3) The advantages of syllable-timed speech treatment for early stuttering. (4) The questions that further research needs to answer about the syllable-timed speech treatment.
authors.affiliation: Australian Stuttering Research Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia. n.trajkovski@usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trajkovski
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onslow
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Packman
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Brian
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menzies
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D013342:Stuttering / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome