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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1488328

CARE Model of Treatment for Stuttering: Theory, Assumptions, and Preliminary Findings

Provisionally accepted
Courtney T Byrd Courtney T Byrd 1,2Geoffrey A Coalson Geoffrey A Coalson 1,2*Edward G Conture Edward G Conture 1,2
  • 1 Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research, Austin, Minnesota, United States
  • 2 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The purpose of this article is to present a theory of therapy for stuttering, its related assumptions, and findings from associated empirical studies. Specifically, we propose the Blank Center CARE™ Model of Treatment (CT) for stuttering, which differs from the current, widely employed fluency model of treatment (FT). The CT reflects the authors' belief in the need to move away from fluency-focused or seemingly ableist treatments (i.e., any approach that attempts to correct, cure, or fix a disabling condition) for stuttering. The authors propose a shift towards a theory of treatment that addresses whole-person wellness and considers the treatment of stuttering from outside the framework of fluency shaping and stuttering modification. In support of such considerations, this article provides preliminary findings from both non-clinical and clinical studies of using the CT for children and adults. Although preliminary, these findings appear to lend empirical support to the authors' belief that the treatment of stuttering needs to change. In essence, a change in the zeitgeist regarding the treatment of stuttering may contribute to an associated paradigm shift from FT to CT in the management of stuttering in children and adults.

    Keywords: Stuttering, stammering, Theory, Treatment, non-ableist, adults, Children

    Received: 29 Aug 2024; Accepted: 08 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Byrd, Coalson and Conture. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Geoffrey A Coalson, Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research, Austin, Minnesota, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.