The Most Important Therapy Outcomes for School-Aged Children Who Stutter: An Exploratory Study

Purpose The aim of this article was to identify what school-aged children who stutter consider to be the most important outcomes from therapy. Method A Delphi approach was employed for the study. Eighteen participants aged 9–13 years completed a survey, generating 90 statements that would constitute successful therapy outcomes. After categorization and reduction, 79 statements were sent to participants in a second survey to seek consensus on their importance. Fifteen participants aged 8–14 years completed this second survey. Statements with the highest median ratings and smallest standard deviations were retained. Results Twenty-one statements were retained after analysis. These reflected hopes for affective and behavioral change in the young person and in other people after therapy. Important outcomes included, but are not limited to, increased fluency, greater independence, increased confidence at school, others knowing how to support the individual, and communication situations feeling easier. Conclusi...