Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom.
Speech Therapy, City Literary Institute, London, United Kingdom.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2018 Oct 19;27(3S):1273-1286. doi: 10.1044/2018_AJSLP-ODC11-17-0198.
Qualitative data were obtained from 8 people who stutter about their experiences and changes they perceived following attendance of an intensive group therapy intervention. Measures that related to reductions in stuttering, improved communicative confidence, and impacts on stuttering and quality of life were used to complement the qualitative data.
Eight participants attended a group stuttering modification course for adults who stutter. They reported their experiences of therapy and perceived changes in a focus group immediately after therapy and at a semistructured interview 6 months post-therapy. Participants completed 5 additional quantitative standardized outcome measures at 3 data collection points (before and directly after therapy and 6 months post-therapy). These measures provided information about stuttering severity and frequency, use of avoidance strategies, attitude change, communicative confidence, quality of life, and locus of control.
Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified 4 main areas: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors before therapy and motivation for seeking therapy; direct experience of the course; learning outcomes and challenges and solutions for maintaining change; and ways in which attending therapy had made a difference. These reported changes were supported by the quantitative measures that demonstrated improved communicative confidence; increased self-awareness; affective, behavioral, and cognitive changes; reduced use of avoidance strategies; and lower impact of stuttering on quality of life.
The qualitative analyses confirmed positive speech and attitude changes consequent on participants' attendance at stuttering modification therapy. These changes, further corroborated by quantitative measures, were linked to reports of improved quality of life. Further research is required to investigate the effectiveness of this form of therapy empirically and from the client's perspective.
从 8 名口吃者那里获得定性数据，了解他们在参加强化小组治疗干预后的体验和感知变化。使用与口吃减少、沟通信心提高以及对口吃和生活质量的影响相关的措施来补充定性数据。
8 名参与者参加了成人口吃矫正小组治疗课程。他们在治疗后立即的焦点小组中报告了他们的治疗经历和感知变化，并在治疗后 6 个月进行了半结构化访谈。参与者在 3 个数据收集点（治疗前、治疗后直接和治疗后 6 个月）完成了另外 5 项定量标准化结果测量。这些措施提供了有关口吃严重程度和频率、回避策略使用、态度变化、沟通信心、生活质量和控制源的信息。
对定性数据的主题分析确定了 4 个主要领域：治疗前的想法、感受和行为以及寻求治疗的动机；课程的直接体验；学习成果以及维持变化的挑战和解决方案；以及治疗如何产生影响。这些报告的变化得到了定量措施的支持，这些措施表明沟通信心提高；自我意识增强；情感、行为和认知变化；回避策略使用减少；口吃对生活质量的影响降低。
定性分析证实了参与者参加口吃矫正治疗后言语和态度的积极变化。这些变化进一步得到定量措施的证实，与生活质量改善的报告相关。需要进一步研究从实证和客户角度研究这种治疗形式的有效性。
