On this site we recommend Smooth Speech (Prolonged Speech, Speech Restructuring) treatment for adults and teenagers and The Lidcombe Program for preschoolers. This is because they have the best evidence-base and have research to answer YES to all six questions below.

Questions and Answers for Recommended Treatments

Six Questions to ask Treatment Provider		Programs
		Smooth (Prolonged) Speech (for adults and teenagers)	Lidcombe Program (for preschoolers)
Q1	Accurate Scientific Speech Measures Used?
Q2	Speech tested at many different times?
Q3	Improvement carries over to speaking outside the clinic?
Q4	Results backed up by long term studies?
Q5	Speech sounds natural after treatment?
Q6	Number of people who drop-out is clearly reported?

About the Questions to ask the Treatment Provider

1. Are the claimed results based on improvement in scientific speech measures (such as the number of stutters per minute in the person's speech)?
   ...IF NOT, they may be based only on participants' opinions which can be influenced e.g. maybe the participants enjoyed the other people's company in the group and had a fun time, but that does not necessarily reduce the amount of stutters in their speech.
2. Are the reports based on tests from a mix of 'good' and 'bad' speech days?
   ...IF NOT, they may be based only on the participants' 'best' speech days instead of the average amount of stuttering on different occasions. Everyone has a fantastic day from time to time - it doesn't mean that they are stuttering less overall.
3. Has improvement been proven to carry over to everyday speech outside the clinic?
   ...IF NOT, participants may only be fluent inside the clinic, not anywhere else.
4. Have the short-term results been backed up by long-term follow-up studies?
   ...If NOT, participants may soon start stuttering again after treatment ends.
5. Does the treatment produce natural-sounding speech?
   ...IF NOT, participants' speech after treatment may sound stranger than before and may lead to habits which interfere with normal breathing patterns and voice use.
6. Have the number of participants who 'dropped out' of the studies been clearly reported, along with the reasons given by those participants?
   ...IF NOT, the results may not be as good as they look, and the treatment provider may be trying to hide problems with the treatment.

Once you've got the answers: If you can't answer 'yes' to all these questions about a treatment that interests you, try asking what the treatment provider is doing to gather unbiased research support41.