A Study of Rehabilitation Effectiveness and Improvement Factors in Adults Who Stutter

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K19319
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 59010:Rehabilitation science-related
• Research Institution: Kitasato University
• Principal Investigator: Hata Wakana 北里大学, 医療衛生学部, 講師 (50448958)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 吃音 / リハビリテーション / リハビリテーション効果 / 流暢性形成法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Acoustic changes that occurred in the speech of 42 stutterers were examined by comparing their speech after treatment for fluency skill acquisition with that before the treatment.
The mean stuttering frequency significantly decreased after three treatments and at the end of the treatment, confirming the effect of the treatment. Articulation velocity also decreased after treatment. However, articulation rate did not correlate with stuttering frequency, indicating that it is crucial to decrease the articulation rate within the individual, regardless of the pre-treatment articulation rate.
Before treatment, the stutterers had many pauses and their speech was short and choppy. However, after treatment, the length of speech that could be uttered in one phrase was extended, and the mean duration of pauses between sentences was significantly prolonged, suggesting that the stutterers had improved control over their speech movements.

Free Research Field

言語聴覚療法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

吃音に対する代表的な言語聴覚的治療法の１つは、吃音者に「流暢性スキル」と呼ばれる発話手法を習得してもらい，吃音を軽減させる方法で，発話行動の変容を導くアプローチである。本研究では，この手法を用いた言語聴覚療法によって吃頻度が有意に低下していたことを明らかにし，吃症状が減少した発話における変化の側面を捉えることが可能であった。また，発話パタンに焦点をあて、その変化を明らかにした。今回明らかになった発話パタンの変化は、流暢性スキルを的確に用いる訓練の方法論にとっても有意義な基礎的データであると考える。