A three-arm randomized controlled trial of Lidcombe Program and Westmead Program early stuttering interventions

PURPOSE: To compare two experimental Westmead Program treatments with a control Lidcombe Program treatment for early stuttering. METHOD: The design was a three-arm randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessments 9 months post-randomization. Participants were 91 pre-school children. RESULTS: There was no evidence of difference in percentage syllables stuttered at 9 months among groups. Dropout rates were substantive and may have been connected with novel aspects of the trial design: the use of community clinicians, no exclusion criteria, and randomization of children younger than 3 years of age. CONCLUSION: The substantive dropout rate for all three arms in this trial means that any conclusions about the 9-month stuttering outcomes must be regarded as tentative. However, continued development of the Westmead Program is warranted, and we are currently constructing an internet version.