City, University of London, Northampton Square, Clerkenwell, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom.
Michael Palin Centre, 13-15 Pine St, Farringdon, London EC1R 0JG, United Kingdom.
J Commun Disord. 2022 May-Jun;97:106217. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106217. Epub 2022 May 17.
It is estimated that 8% of children who stutter (CWS) have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Briley & Ellis (2018). There is evidence that interventions for CWS and interventions for children with ASD can be effective, but there is little evidence to guide clinical decision making when working with CWS with a co-existing diagnosis of ASD. Palin Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) therapy Kelman & Nicholas (2020) is an evidence-based intervention for CWS, with the authors suggesting that the approach may be beneficial for CWS with ASD. The aim of this study was to examine outcomes for three CWS with ASD who received Palin PCI at a specialist centre for stuttering in London.
The participants were three CWS with ASD aged 4;5, 6;7 and 7;7. Assessments were administered before therapy, and then at three, six and twelve months after therapy began. Outcome measures included stuttering frequency, child's communication attitude, parents' perception of the impact of stuttering on the child, the severity of stuttering and its impact on the parents, and parents' knowledge and confidence in managing stuttering.
All three children showed improvement in three or more variables. Four out of five parents reported reduced impact of stuttering on the child and themselves following therapy, and change was maintained one year post-therapy. All five parents reported increased knowledge of stuttering and confidence in managing it after therapy, and four parents maintained these changes for a year.
Over a one year period, these CWS with ASD who received Palin PCI showed change across multiple variables. The observed increases in parent knowledge and confidence were comparable to previously published data. These preliminary findings suggest that CWS with ASD and their parents can benefit from Palin PCI therapy and that further experimental evaluation of this approach with this client group is indicated.
据估计，8%的口吃儿童（CWS）患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）。有证据表明，口吃儿童的干预措施和自闭症儿童的干预措施可以是有效的，但当与同时患有 ASD 的 CWS 一起工作时，几乎没有证据可以指导临床决策。Palin 亲子互动（PCI）疗法 Kelman & Nicholas（2020）是一种针对 CWS 的循证干预措施，作者认为该方法可能对 ASD 的 CWS 有益。本研究的目的是研究在伦敦口吃专科中心接受 Palin PCI 的三名 ASD 口吃儿童的治疗结果。
参与者为三名年龄分别为 4 岁；5、6 岁；7 和 7 岁；7 的 ASD 口吃儿童。在治疗前、治疗开始后 3、6 和 12 个月进行评估。评估包括口吃频率、儿童沟通态度、父母对口吃对儿童的影响的看法、口吃严重程度及其对父母的影响以及父母对口吃的认识和管理信心。
所有三名儿童在三个或更多变量中均有改善。五分之四的父母报告在治疗后口吃对孩子和自己的影响减轻，治疗一年后仍有改善。所有五名父母在治疗后报告对口吃的认识增加，管理口吃的信心增加，其中四名父母在治疗一年后仍保持这些变化。
在一年的时间里，接受 Palin PCI 的这些 ASD 口吃儿童在多个变量上都有变化。观察到的父母知识和信心的增加与之前发表的数据相当。这些初步发现表明，ASD 的 CWS 及其父母可以从 Palin PCI 治疗中受益，并且需要进一步对该治疗方法在该患者群体中的进行实验评估。
