Early Childhood Professionals' Management of Young Children Who Stutter: A Cross-Sectional Study

The study investigates how kindergarten employees, public health nurses, and speech therapists in Norway deal with young children who stutter. The researchers focus on the practice of these professional groups during the first meeting with parents who are worried about their child’s stutter. The study also analysed what advice they usually give to parents, what factors influence the decision to refer children to a speech therapist, and how the collaboration between different professional groups takes place. The research questions are:

1. How many workplaces within these professions have guidelines for managing stuttering in young children?
2. What approaches do the professions use when parents first contact them with concerns about their child’s stuttering?
3. What are the three most common pieces of advice the professions give to parents who report that their child stutters?
4. What information do the professions use to assess whether a child needs further follow-up by a speech therapist?
5. Who do the professions collaborate with in the management of children who stutter?

The results showed that only a small proportion of participants had access to guidelines for managing stuttering. The most common advice for parents was to give children enough time to talk and maintain eye contact. The factors that influenced referrals to speech therapists often included the severity of the stuttering and parental concern. Professional collaboration, especially between kindergarten teachers and speech therapists, was reported as being important, but public health nurses participated less frequently in interdisciplinary initiatives.

The study used a cross-sectional design and collected data through an online survey. The survey included 342 participants: 126 kindergarten teachers, 95 public health nurses and 121 speech therapists. The questions were both closed-ended and open-ended, covering participants’ experiences of stuttering, common response strategies and factors that influence decisions regarding referrals to speech therapists.

Kefalianos, E., Guttormsen, L. S., Hansen, E. H., Hofslundsengen, H. C., Næss, K. A. B., Antypas, K., & Kirmess, M. (2022). Early Childhood Professionals' Management of Young Children Who Stutter: A Cross-Sectional Study. American Journal of Speech – Language Pathology, 31(2), 923–941.