Editing Stuttering (section)

==Treatment==
{{main|Stuttering therapy}}
While there is no cure for stuttering, several treatment options exist and the best option is dependent on the individual.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yaruss |first1=J. Scott |title=One Size Does Not Fit All: Special Topics in Stuttering Therapy |journal=Seminars in Speech and Language |date=2003 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=003–006 |doi=10.1055/s-2003-37381 |pmid=12601580 }}</ref> Therapy should be individualized and tailored to the specific and unique needs of the client. The speech–language pathologist and the client typically work together to create achievable and realistic goals that target communication confidence, autonomy, managing emotions and stress related to their stutter, and working on disclosure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perez |first1=Hector R |last2=Stoeckle |first2=James H |date=June 2016 |title=Stuttering: Clinical and research update |journal=Canadian Family Physician |language=en |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=479–484 |pmid=27303004 |pmc=4907555 }}</ref>

; Fluency shaping therapy 
: Fluency shaping therapy trains people who stutter to speak less disfluently by controlling their breathing, phonation, and articulation (lips, jaw, and tongue). It is based on [[operant conditioning]] techniques.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2006|p= 257}}</ref> This type of therapy is not considered best practice in the field of speech and language pathology and is potentially harmful and traumatic for clients.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sisskin |first1=Vivian |title=Disfluency-Affirming Therapy for Young People Who Stutter: Unpacking Ableism in the Therapy Room |journal=Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools |date=17 January 2023 |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=114–119 |doi=10.1044/2022_LSHSS-22-00015 |pmid=36279203 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tichenor |first1=Seth E. |last2=Constantino |first2=Christopher |last3=Yaruss |first3=J. Scott |title=A Point of View About Fluency |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=9 February 2022 |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=645–652 |doi=10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00342 |pmid=34982943 |pmc=9135003 }}</ref>

; Stuttering modification therapy
: The goal of stuttering modification therapy is not to eliminate stuttering but to modify it so that stuttering is easier and less effortful.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2006|p= 253}}</ref> The most widely known approach was published by [[Charles Van Riper]] in 1973 and is also known as block modification therapy.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2006|p= 245}}</ref> Stuttering modification therapy should not be used to promote fluent speech or presented as a cure for stuttering. 
:
: Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering (ARTS) is an effective form of modification therapy. It is a framework based on theories developed by professor Joseph Sheehan and his wife Vivian Sheehan. This framework focuses on self-acceptance as someone who stutters, and efficient, spontaneous and joyful communication, essentially, minimizing quality-of-life impact due to stuttering.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Graphique 1.3 Avantages sanitaires de la lutte contre le changement climatique |doi=10.1787/888932428576 }}{{full|date=February 2025}}</ref>

; Electronic fluency device
{{main|Electronic fluency device}}
: Altered auditory feedback effect can be produced by speaking in chorus with another person, by blocking out the voice of the person who stutters while they are talking (masking), by delaying slightly the voice of the person who stutters (delayed auditory feedback) or by altering the frequency of the feedback (frequency altered feedback). Studies of these techniques have had mixed results.

; Medications
: No medication is currently FDA-approved for stuttering. Some research suggests that dopamine antagonists such as [[ecopipam]] and [[deutetrabenazine]] may have therapeutic potential.<ref name="pmid32292321">{{cite journal |last1=Maguire |first1=Gerald A. |last2=Nguyen |first2=Diem L. |last3=Simonson |first3=Kevin C. |last4=Kurz |first4=Troy L. |title=The Pharmacologic Treatment of Stuttering and Its Neuropharmacologic Basis |journal=Frontiers in Neuroscience |date=27 March 2020 |volume=14 |page=158 |doi=10.3389/fnins.2020.00158 |pmid=32292321 |pmc=7118465 |doi-access=free }}</ref> More recently, psychedelics have been proposed as potential therapeutic agents for developmental stuttering, based on their ability to modulate brain metabolism and neural networks such as the default mode and social-cognitive networks. These systems are thought to contribute to the persistence of stuttering and its associated features, including social anxiety. While clinical trials are currently lacking, anecdotal reports and parallels with other psychiatric conditions have prompted calls for formal investigation.<ref name="Pasculli2024">{{cite journal |last1=Pasculli |first1=Giuseppe |last2=Busan |first2=Pierpaolo |last3=Jackson |first3=Eric S. |last4=Alm |first4=Per A. |last5=De Gregorio |first5=Danilo |last6=Maguire |first6=Gerald A. |last7=Goodwin |first7=Guy M. |last8=Gobbi |first8=Gabriella |last9=Erritzoe |first9=David |last10=Carhart-Harris |first10=Robin L. |title=Psychedelics in developmental stuttering to modulate brain functioning: a new therapeutic perspective? |journal=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |date=19 June 2024 |volume=18 |doi=10.3389/fnhum.2024.1402549 |doi-access=free |hdl=11573/1712146 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>


=== Support ===
Self-help groups provide people who stutter a shared forum within which they can access resources and support from others facing the same challenges of stuttering.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

===Prognosis===
Among ages 3–5, the [[prognosis]] for spontaneously recovery is about 65% to 87.5%. By 7 years of age or within the first two years of stuttering,<ref name="Sander and Osborne">{{cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=Robert W. |last2=Osborne |first2=Charles A. |title=Stuttering: Understanding and Treating a Common Disability |journal=American Family Physician |date=November 2019 |volume=100 |issue=9 |pages=556–560 |pmid=31674746 |url=https://www.aafp.org/link_out?pmid=31674746 }}</ref><ref name="fn 30">{{cite journal |last1=Yairi |first1=Ehud |last2=Ambrose |first2=Nicoline |title=Onset of Stuttering in Preschool Children: Selected Factors |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=August 1992 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=782–788 |doi=10.1044/jshr.3504.782 |pmid=1405533 }}</ref><ref name="fn 31">{{cite journal |last1=Yairi |first1=Ehud |title=Epidemiologic and other considerations in treatment efficacy research with preschool age children who stutter |journal=Journal of Fluency Disorders |date=June 1993 |volume=18 |issue=2–3 |pages=197–219 |doi=10.1016/0094-730X(93)90007-Q }}</ref> and about 74% recover by their early teens. In particular, girls are shown to recover more often.<ref name="Ward16">{{harvnb|Ward|2006|p= 16}}</ref><ref name="fn 34">{{cite journal|author= Yairi, E|title=On the Gender Factor in Stuttering|journal=Stuttering Foundation of America Newsletter|date=Fall 2005|page= 5}}</ref>

Prognosis is guarded with later age of onset: children who start stuttering at age 3½ years or later,<ref name="Yairi2005"/> and/or duration of greater than 6–12 months since onset, that is, once stuttering has become established, about 18% of children who stutter after five years recover spontaneously.<ref name="fn 32">{{cite journal |last1=Andrews |first1=Gavin |last2=Hoddinott |first2=Susan |last3=Craig |first3=Ashley |last4=Howie |first4=Pauline |last5=Feyer |first5=Anne-Marie |last6=Neilson |first6=Megan |title=Stuttering: A Review of Research Findings and Theories circa 1982 |journal=Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders |date=August 1983 |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=226–246 |doi=10.1044/jshd.4803.226 |pmid=6353066 }}</ref> Stuttering that persists after the age of seven is classified as persistent stuttering, and is associated with a much lower chance of recovery.<ref name="Sander and Osborne" />