Exploring the Nature, Assessment and Treatment of Stuttering

The Blank Center CARE Model™: An Anti-Ableist Approach to Treatment

The purposes of this study are to 1) investigate potential speech, language, and psychosocial contributions to the experience of stuttering in monolingual and multilingual speakers, and to 2) evaluate interdisciplinary, telehealth, and speech-language pathology treatment methods and clinical training specific to fluency disorders.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Stuttering; Stuttering, Childhood; Stuttering, Adult; Stuttering, Developmental
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: The Blank Center CARE Model(TM) for Individuals who Stutter

Detailed Description

Stuttering is a neurophysiological communication disorder characterized by a disruption in the forward flow of speech. Stuttering is multifactorial in nature, meaning there are several factors that likely to contribute to the development of stuttering in children and persistence of stuttering into adulthood. About 1% of the worldwide population stutters. In the United States, over 3 million people stutter. Research suggests people who stutter present with negative cognitive and affective components of the disorder, and that the general population holds negative perceptions of stuttering. Historically, people who stutter spend thousands of dollars on treatment that is not effective in mitigating the negative impact of stuttering on their overall communication and quality of life.

Speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat persons who stutter across the lifespan. Research suggests speech-language pathologists report fluency disorders (stuttering and cluttering) as the communication disorders with which they feel least competent and comfortable.

Thus, the purposes of this study are to 1) investigate potential speech, language, psychosocial, and motor contributions to stuttered speech production in monolingual and multilingual speakers and to 2) evaluate interdisciplinary, telehealth, and speech-language pathology treatment methods and clinical training tools specific to fluency disorders.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 3000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Courtney T Byrd, PhD; Phone Number: 512 475 6174; Email: courtney.byrd@austin.utexas.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Geoffrey A Coalson, PhD; Phone Number: 512 232 2999; Email: geoffrey.coalson@austin.utexas.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78712
      • Recruiting
      • Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research
      • Contact: Geoffrey A Coalson, PhD; Phone Number: 512-232-2999; Email: geoffrey.coalson@austin.utexas.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

A participant will be considered a child who stutters (ages 2-17 years) if

• their parent/caregiver reports concern that their child is a person who stutters,
• they exhibit three of more stuttering-like disfluencies (e.g., sound/syllable repetitions, (in)audible sound prolongations, whole-word repetitions) per 300-word speech sample, or
• they present with an overall score of 11 or higher on the Stuttering Severity Instrument - 4th Edition (SSI-4).

A participant will be considered an adult who stutters (18+ years) if

• they report they are a person who stutters,
• they have received a formal diagnosis of stuttering from a certified speech-language pathologist,
• they exhibit three of more stuttering-like disfluencies (e.g., sound/syllable repetitions, (in)audible sound prolongations, whole-word repetitions) per 300-word speech sample, or
• they present with an overall score of 11 or higher on the Stuttering Severity Instrument - 4th Edition (SSI-4).

Exclusion Criteria:

• There are no exclusion criteria for persons who stutter.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Blank Center CARE Model (Communication, Advocacy, Resilience, Education)

Behavioral: The Blank Center CARE Model(TM) for Individuals who Stutter; The over-arching goal of the Blank Center CARE Model is to ensure individuals who stutter communicate effectively, advocate for themselves in a manner that maintains agency, and ensure their quality of life does not depend on producing, or attempting to control, stuttered speech.; Other Names: Communication-Centered Treatment (CCT)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Communication Competence	psychometric measures of communication competence (e.g., CARE Assessment: Communication Subscale)	11-weeks
Advocacy	psychometric measures of self-advocacy (e.g., CARE Assessment: Advocacy Subscale)	11-weeks
Resilience	psychometric measures of resilience (e.g., CARE Assessment: Resilience Subscale)	11-weeks
Education	psychometric measures of education about stuttering (e.g., CARE Assessment: Education Subscale)	11-weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Courtney T Byrd, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• primary website for research center [Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research]

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 22, 2015
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 22, 2035
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 22, 2035

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 8, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): June 18, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 22, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 20, 2023
• Last Verified: June 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: stuttering, communication competence, adult, treatment
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Speech Disorders; Stuttering
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2015050044

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No