An Evaluation of a Mentor Experience for Adolescents who Stammer in Group Therapy

Abstract This poster will summarise the mentor experience for two teenagers attending the Stammering Support Centre residential course as a client and subsequently as a peer mentor. There is current and active movement towards patient involvement in healthcare services1. More specifically, research has highlighted the positive impact that mentors, role models and peer support have on children who stammer2. The Stammering Support Centre runs a ‘Speaking Out’ residential therapy programme annually at an outdoor pursuits centre. The 6 day residential therapy programme targets successful, confident communication and positive thinking skills through a programme which integrates challenging outdoor activities and speech and language therapy sessions. In 2012 two clients were selected to attend the course again in 2013, in a mentor capacity. Mentors were selected to support clients by providing support, encouragement and knowledge in both therapy and outdoor pursuit's activities. Pre and post intervention data was collected (Situation Questionnaires3 and OASES4) across both experiences as a client and a mentor, at the beginning and end of the intervention and three months post intervention. Further follow up data collection is underway. The results of this study demonstrate that therapy outcomes for the mentor experience were qualitatively different to the client experience. Additionally, different mentors had different experiences. Whilst client S demonstrated continued improvement in assessment scores, client K showed a reduction in scores indicating that the experience was of less immediate therapeutic benefit. Quantitative and qualitative results will be explored in more detail. This study demonstrates the value of a mentor programme for teenagers who stammer but also highlights the need for careful selection of individuals for the programme. Further research could investigate the role of factors such as level of previous speech and language therapy input and temperament in the suitability for a mentorship role.