Cognitive behaviour language therapy for speech anxiety among stuttering school adolescents

Objective To determine the effectiveness of a cognitive behaviour language therapy (CBLT) programme to reduce speech anxiety among stuttering school adolescents. Methods This was a group randomized clinical trial that enrolled stuttering school adolescents who had severe speech anxiety. The participants were randomized to either the treatment group or the control group. The Speech Anxiety Thoughts Inventory (SATI) score was recorded before and after a 12-week CBLT programme was delivered in 24 group sessions to the treatment group. The control group did not receive any therapy. Results A total of 92 stuttering school adolescents who met the inclusion criteria were randomized to the treatment group (n = 46; 22 males, 24 females; mean ± SD age, 16.36 ± 2.20 years) or the control group (n = 46; 28 males, 18 females; mean ± SD age, 15.45 ± 2.10 years). Results showed that the CBLT intervention significantly reduced speech anxiety among stuttering school adolescents compared with the control group (post-test SATI assessment, mean ± SD 26.52 ± 1.67 versus 89.92 ± 3.17, respectively). Conclusion These findings suggest that speech educators and therapists in educational institutions and hospitals should follow the principles of CBLT when treating speech anxiety.