title: Determining the effect of laser acupuncture in treating stutterers in comparison with speech therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Investigation of strategies and methods of therapy in stutterers regarding to its characteristics, length of treatment, and relapse of stuttering is very important. Acupuncture has been introduced as a therapeutic method for the treatment of stuttering. The aim of the present research was the identification of the results of intervention of laser acupuncture in comparison with speech therapy in stutterers.
  
  
  METHODS
  This clinical - trial and case control research was conducted on 20 stutterers and 20 non-stutterers. In the present study, speech therapy and laser acupuncture were used on 10 persons who had developmental stuttering from childhood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results were compared with the data of speech therapy and placebo laser in 10 control subjects. All of the subjects were followed up for 12 weeks after the intervention. The obtained data showed that accompanying of speech therapy with laser acupuncture resulted the increasing of maintenance and therapeutic effects of stuttering treatment and decreasing of relapsing. The speech rate and percent of stuttered words before and after the intervention in both groups (A and B) were decreased. Following the results after 12 weeks showed that the results were stable in laser group more than the other group and there was a significant difference between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study showed that using of laser acupuncture therapy accompanying by speech therapy has many effects on the treatment of stuttering and prevents the relapsing of stuttering that is very common.
authors.affiliation: Speech Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Bijan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shafiei
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heshmatipour
authors.affiliation: Speech Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tavakol
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saghaei
authors.affiliation: Speech Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ghayumi
keywords: Acupuncture; laser; outcome; stuttering; treatment