A Case of Improvement in Stuttering with Home-Based Speech Shadowing Training

Abstract

An adult who stuttered severely underwent 3-month home-based speech shadowing training, and its effectiveness was verified. The subject shadowed arbitrary radio speech of his choice 10 minutes per day for three months. A follow-up inspection was conducted after 3 months. The effectiveness of the training was assessed using the Japanese Stuttering Test, the Japanese version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-A-J), questionnaires focused on psychological aspects (suffering due to stuttering, communication attitude, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-J), and self-assessment scales concerning speech. The frequencies of stuttering-like disfluencies in oral reading, picture explanation, and spontaneous speech were reduced after the training, and were maintained at the 3-month follow-up assessment. Responses to the questionnaires showed that the subject's communication difficulties in daily situations and suffering due to stuttering were markedly reduced after the training. His communication attitude became positive and his self-assessment improved after the training. Long-term home-based speech shadowing training can thus bring improvement in stuttering as well as in the psychological dimension for a stuttering adult.