Clinical Decision Making and Challenges When Treating Adults Who Stutter

The purpose of this webinar is to describe a number of decisions that need to be made when treating individuals who have a long history of stuttering. Adults who stutter pose challenges for clinicians in terms of treatment planning and delivery. Because of adults who stutter have been stuttering for many years, their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns are well established and can be associated with various degrees of struggle, tension, avoidance, and escape behaviors. This webinar will explore these and other issues related to treating adults who stutter. These include examining clinician characteristics and beliefs about stuttering, collecting specific pre-treatment assessment data, expanding a client’s understanding of his/her stuttering, exploring ways to structure a therapy program that differs from past treatments, and understanding the challenges associated with a client’s poor motivation for therapy and failure to make long-term changes in managing stuttering.

Prof. Dr. Charles Healey

The purpose of this webinar is to describe a number of decisions that need to be made when treating individuals who have a long history of stuttering. Adults who stutter pose challenges for clinicians in terms of treatment planning and delivery. Because of adults who stutter have been stuttering for many years, their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns are well established and can be associated with various degrees of struggle, tension, avoidance, and escape behaviors. This webinar will explore these and other issues related to treating adults who stutter. These include examining clinician characteristics and beliefs about stuttering, collecting specific pre-treatment assessment data, expanding a client’s understanding of his/her stuttering, exploring ways to structure a therapy program that differs from past treatments, and understanding the challenges associated with a client’s poor motivation for therapy and failure to make long-term changes in managing stuttering.

Course Outcomes

• Understand some of the complex decisions involved in treating adults who stutter.
• Describe the type of assessment data and information needed for measuring client progress.
• Understand clinician beliefs and behaviors important for treating adults who stutter.
• Target component behaviors that focus on the individual treat needs of a client.
• Explain various approaches to the treatment of stuttering.
• Describe how to establish long-term treatment goals and prevent relapse.

Program Flow

• Overview of factors important to treating adults who stutter
• Clinician beliefs and behaviors that facilitate effective treatment
• Types of data for charting progress in therapy
• Making decisions about which approaches to use in treating advanced stuttering
• Challenges when treating the adult who stutters and how to manage them
• Summary comments and questions from attendees