Parents’ Experience of the Lidcombe Program

Case Study 1 - Dutch Family
Hallo,

Wij zochten als ouders van een jongetje van 4 jaar contact met de logopediste, omdat hij moeite had om vloeiend te spreken. Hij herhaalde geen letters  maar meestal het eerste woord van zijn zin. Het is lastig om te zien dat je kind zo worstelt met "simpele" woorden en andere kinderen(en soms volwassenen)hem dan niet de tijd gunnen om uit te praten. Na eerst zelf te hebben geprobeerd er iets aan te doen, zoals rustig tegen hem praten e.d zijn we samen met de logopediste begonnen aan het Lidcombe programma. Het was een manier van oefenen die hij zelf niet opmerkte maar die enorm veel positief effect heeft gehad.

Na een aantal maanden was de spraak van onze zoon weer vloeiend, zonder ingewikkelde opdrachten of oefeningen.

Wij zouden het iedereen aanraden.

met vriendelijke groet Monique


Hi,

As parents of a 4-year old boy, we contacted the speech therapist because he had trouble speaking fluently. He did not repeat letters but usually repeated the first word of his sentence many times. It’s hard to see your child struggling with “simple” words and to see that other children (and sometimes adults) didn’t give him time to talk. After trying to do something about it ourselves, like talking quietly to him, we started with the Lidcombe Program with our speech therapist.

It was a way of practising that he himself didn’t notice as practising but which had an enormous positive effect on him.

After several months the speech of our son was fluent again, without complicated tasks or practising.

We would recommend it to everyone.

Best regards, Monique

Case Study 2 - Dutch Family
Onze dochter Annika is 11 jaar oud en heeft het syndroom van Down. Een aantal jaren geleden begon zij af en toe te stotteren en dat werd geleidelijk aan steeds wat erger. Wij zijn begonnen met het Lidcombe Programma en waren eigenlijk aangenaam verrast te zien hoe snel er verbetering optrad. Annika heeft tijd nodig om nieuwe dingen te leren, dus wij hebben er wat langere tijd voor uitgetrokken om te oefenen. Nu, na twee maanden oefenen zit zij praktisch nooit meer vast en de kleine stotters die er af en toe nog langskomen, hopen we ook nog te verbeteren. Het prettige aan dit programma is dat het uitgaat van positieve bekrachtiging en dat is ook goed voor het zelfvertrouwen van Annika. Zij vindt het ook leuk om te oefenen. De methode geeft ook de mogelijkheid te varieren met oefenstof, wij pakken daarom alle fotoboeken uit de kast, want dat is leuk om te doen. (J. de Ruiter, moeder van Annika).
(Our daughter Annika is 11 years old and has Down Syndrome. A few years ago she began stuttering and the stuttering aggravated gradually. We started with the Lidcombe Program and actually we were surprised to see how fast her speech improved. Annika needs time to learn new things, so we are prepared for a longer time practising with the Lidcombe Program. Now, after two months practice, she hardly gets stuck anymore and we also hope to improve the small stutters that still come and go. The nice part of this program is the positive reinforcement, which is also good for Annika’s self-confidence. She enjoys practising. The program gives the opportunity to vary the ways of practising. We therefore look in all our photo books in our cabinet, because that is fun. (J.de Ruiter, Annika’s mother)).
Case Study 3 - English Family

We were worried a lot for Kirsty when she, 3 year old, stuttered with repetitions, prolongations and blocks. Her eldest brother at 10, struggled with a severe stutter, and my father-in-law has a stutter. We started the Lidcombe Program, and after about a year she was fluent, we started early with Kirsty because of the family history, and for that we are thankful, as she is still fluent, and now she is 11 years old. The only pity about this is that our son for many years have blamed us, we didn’t help him the way we helped Kirsty.

From Mum

Case Study 4 - English Family
Our daughter started stuttering suddenly and dramatically at the age of two and a half. We attended speech therapy with her from the age of three, doing video play sessions, attending group sessions with other parents, modifying our own speech and trying generally to reduce demands on her.

Her stuttering virtually disappeared for about six months but then it returned just as mysteriously as it had gone, and so at the age of seven she was still stuttering. The therapists were kind and very supportive but the strong emphasis on environmental factors and the parent/child interaction induced feelings of guilt and the sense that that we were in some way to blame. We were also frustrated because while we could change our own behaviour we could not change the world in which we lived or all the other people we came into contact with.

It was also hard at times to have a relaxed conversation with her as every time she stuttered it induced feelings of guilt, powerlessness and sometimes anger at the injustice of it all- we are two loving parents and she was brought up in a very child-centred environment and yet she still stuttered.

When we read about the Lidcombe programme we were both excited and scared. The concept that stuttering was akin to a motor control problem and that one could, with help, control it seemed at odds with what we had done previously. We were very concerned that by drawing attention to it and expecting her to control it we could end up destroying her confidence and worsening her stuttering.

We decided we had to try it and so we undertook the 500 mile round trip on a fortnightly basis.

In actual fact she really enjoyed the therapy sessions with all the individual attention, games, praise and rewards, and we found out very quickly that she could control her stuttering as she moved rapidly to stutter-free speech in the sessions and then later on in every day situations. Her confidence increased and she now sounds much more in control when she is talking. Her stuttering has not just disappeared- she seems to be actively doing something about it.

We feel that it has been a really rewarding exercise as we can now relax more when she talks, and instead of experiencing feelings of guilt and inadequacy, we feel empowered as parents, because in conjunction with our excellent therapist we have helped her with her problem.

Case Study 5 - French-Canadian Family

Nous cherchions depuis plusieurs semaines un thérapeute pour notre fille de 3 . ans quant nous avons rencontré Mme Rosalee Shenker, du Centre de la Fluidité Verbale de Montréal. Une longue conversation sur la méthode Lidcombe, son fonctionnement et le rôle de ses intervenants nous a convaincus sans trop de peine qu’il s’ agissait bien la de la thérapie que nous cherchions. D’abord, l’attribution aux parents du rôle de thérapeutes directs nous semblait tenir du bon sens. Qui, en effet, a le plus d’influence sur un enfant de l’ âge de notre fille? Ensuite, la répartition de la thérapie en coute séances quotidiennes plutot qu’en longues séances hebdomadaires ou bi-hebdomadaires satisfait une contrainte psychologique que tous les parents connaissent: les enfants enbas âge apprennent par répétitions fréquentes plutôt que par longues leçons.

Enfin, il nous semblait que l’ élément circonstanciel apporté par le jeu, l’humour et la détente pouvait prévenir les accès de crispation et d’ anxiété auxquels les petits enfants sont si sensibles, et qui bien sûr ne peuvent qu’être nuisibles à tout progrès.

En raison de l’idée reçue voulant que l’on ne doive jamais intervenir directement dans le développement du langage, un élément du programme nous restait à accepter. En effet, la méthode Lidcombe préconise que l’ on félicite l’enfant pour les prononciations satisfaisantes et qu’ on lui demande la correction de celles qui le sont moins. Le tout doit se faire avec des gants blancs, bien entendu, mais nous étions quant même réticents à l’ idée d’intervenir si directement, nous qui n’aurions par nous même osé le faire. Il nous a donc accepter cette contrainte, décidés que nous éetions à jouer le tout pour le tout afin de mettre un terme à la condition de notre fille. Notre courage allait en être récompensé.

Dès les premières semaines de thérapie, utilisant seulement le renforcement positif (c’ est-à-dire, les félicitations) nous pouvions déjà observer que la
condition de notre fille s’était améliorée. Les pires accès de bégaiement, dûs à de la simple inattention ou peut-être à de la complaisance de sa part, avaient disparus. Nous ne les avons jamais revus depuis et nous ne nous attendons absolument pas à les revoir. Pous, les demandes de corrections on été introduites. Très gentiment au début et toujours au milieu de nombreuses félicitiations. Puis de façon un peu plus fréquente mais quand même sans jamais insister. La réceptivité de notre fille été surprenante, ne refusant que rarement les corrections. Dan ce dernier cas, il suffisait alors simplement de ne plus lui demander de correction pour la journée pour que la collaboration reprenne souvent dès lendemain.

À mesure que les semaines passaient, nous avons pu observer de nos propres yeux notre enfant remplacer l’ensemble des réflexes inefficaces qui constituaient son bégaiement par l’ensemble de réflexes inefficaces que l’on appelle le langage fluide. Les progrès n’ étaient pas constants ou linéaires, mais plutôt sur le modèle `deux pas en avant, un pas en arrière’. Beaucoup de parents reconnaitront dans ce modèle la façon générale par laquelle les enfants font leur apprentissage. Notre tendance est toujours à l’ anxiété lorsqu’un recul survient, mais jusqu’à présent tous ceux de notre fille ont été suivis d’ un bond en avant.

Il y a six mois que nous avons commencé la thérapie. Nous sommes récemment passés à la phase dite de support (angl. `maintenance’ ), enclenchée lorsque notre fille eut passé plusieurs semaines consécutives de bégaiement faible ou même nul. Les rencontres avec l’ orthophoniste sont maintenant plus espacées, le but de cette phase étant de consilider les résultats obtenus et de surveiller toute rechute. Notre fille va beaucoup mieux; au moment où nous écrivons ces lignes, elle fait preuve depuis plus de trois semaines d’une élocution presque totalement fluide. Des journées difficiles sont encore possibles, mais nous nous sentons en possession des outils nécessaires au contrôle de la situation. Avec l’aide de notre orthophoniste, nous aurons probablement à observer et à intervenir (de plus en plus rarement, sans doute) pour encore un an ou deux. Même au-delà de cet échéancier nous garderons contact avec notre orthophoniste, probablement pour plusieurs années.

Nous ne voudrions pas laisser croire que la thérapie est facile pour les parents. Elle demande au contraire un réel travail de leur part. Donner de
félicitations et demander des corrections est plus difficile qu’il ne le semble à première vue : il faut intervenir au bon moment, ne pas sur-réagir, et surtout se bâtir un vocabularie à la fois précis et compris par l’enfant. Il faut vaincre son anxiéte et sa rigidité face au défi d`aborder directement le problème. Il faut aussi trouver les bons moyens pour que le félicitations soient senties : de petits cadeaux le appuient au début, mais il faut rapidement leur trouver des remplacements car ils ont bien sûr tendance à perdre leur valeur de mérite s’ils deviennent trop fréquents! Il faut penser coter l’enfant tous les jours, faire quelques rapports et quelques vidéos. It faut gérer l’effet de la thérapie sur les frères et soeurs, si ceux-ci se montre perplexes. Il faut enfin de la patience, surtout si la route se fait par monts et par vaux, comme ce fut le cas pour nous.

Lorsque notre fille aura un discours résolument fluide et stable, nous éprouverons alors ans doute une exaltation semblable à celles que nous avons vécues à son premier “maman!” ou à ses premiers pas…C’est la grâce que nous nous souhaitons, ainsi qu’ à tous les parents qui recherchent les meilleurs moyens d’aider leurs enfants. Nos remericiements vont à notre orthphoniste, Mme Rosalee Shenker, don’t les précieux conseils et encouragements resteront pour toujours l’ un de mos meilleurs souvenirs dans notre aventure de parents.


We looked for treatment for our three-year-old daughter before finding Mrs. Rosalee Shenker at the Montreal Fluency Centre. After a long discussion about the Lidcombe Program, the way that it works and the role of the parents in treatment, we were convinced without a doubt that this was the sort of treatment that we were looking for. First of all, the role of the parents in treatment seemed sensible to us. Who has more influence at this age on the child than the parents? The daily short conversational sessions (at home) made more sense than long weekly or bi-weekly sessions. It is more comfortable for the parents and children of this age learn from frequent repetition rather than long lessons. Finally, it seemed that the setting supported by games, humor and relaxed atmosphere could prevent the anxiety that little children [may be] so sensitive to and which could be a barrier to progress. Yet because of the myth against becoming directly involved in treatment of young children, this was something we had to accept. The Lidcombe Program asks us to comment favorably on fluent utterances and correct dysfluencies less often. Even though everything is done very gently we were initially very reluctant to intervene so directly. We finally decided to make this decision for the good of our daughter. Our courage would be rewarded.

Using only positive comments during those first few weeks, we could already see that our daughter was improving. The worst stuttering had disappeared and we have not seen it since. Then the request for correction was introduced very gently at first and always accompanied with many praises for fluent speech. We continued to add the corrections but never insisting. Surprisingly, our daughter rarely refused a request to correct. As the weeks went by we saw our child replace stuttering with fluent speech. However, the progress was not constant or linear sometimes with two steps forward and one step back. Many parents may recognize this as a model for how young children learn. Although this caused some anxiety, all setbacks were followed by a leap! It has been six months now since we began therapy. We recently passed the stage where our daughter had several weeks of low or even no stuttering. Meetings are now further apart and the objective of this phase is to maintain fluency and monitor for relapse. Our daughter is much better; at the time of this writing she has experienced three weeks of almost total fluency. Difficult days are possible but we feel that we have the tools that are necessary to control the situation. With the aide of our speech therapist we will continue to observe and provide feedback for at least a year more and we will probably keep in touch with our therapist for several more years to ensure our daughters success.

We would not suggest that this therapy is easy for parents. It calls for real work on their part. Praising fluency and requesting correction for stuttering is more difficult that it initially appears. We must intervene at the right moment, not over-react, and build a vocabulary that is both accurate and makes sense to the child. We must overcome our anxiety about directly addressing the problem. We must find the right terminology and if we give small rewards we must learn to change them if they loose their effectiveness. We must rate the child’s severity every day and sometimes do other reports or even make some videos. We must also manage the effect of the therapy on our other children if this is necessary. Finally, we must be patient if the road is up and down hill as it was with us. When our daughter is finally stable and fluent we will no doubt experience the same exaltation that we felt when she said ‘mama’ for the first time. It is all we wish for, as do all parents who are looking for better ways to help their children. Our thanks go to our therapist, for her valuable advice and encouragement that will always remain as one of the best memories of our adventures as parents.

Case Study 6 - English Family
Starting the Lidcombe programme has been a really positive experience for Oliver and I. As a parent it meant that I was actively doing something that would help my child. As a parent of a child with a stutter I had previously felt helpless, now I was empowered!