Purpose The aim of this study was to describe a range of methods used in stuttering therapy for desensitizing parents of children who stutter (CWS). Method This clinical tutorial will first briefly explore the rationale and benefit of including parents of CWS of all ages in the therapy process. The construct of desensitization will be defined, and a description will be given of how traditionally it has been incorporated into therapy with adults who stutter and CWS. Research evidence will be presented about the impact of a child's stuttering on parents. The article will then focus on clinical methods for desensitizing parents of CWS using examples of activities conducted in group and individual therapy with parents at the Michael Palin Centre in London with reference to desired outcomes, how to measure them, and how to address potential pitfalls. Conclusion Desensitization activities can be implemented with parents of CWS to help them recognize and manage their emotional reactions to their child's stuttering, to support parents to feel knowledgeable and confident in managing their child's stuttering, and ultimately to enhance the child's progress in therapy.

Purpose We previously presented findings from pretherapy solution-focused interviews regarding the therapeutic best hopes of older children who stutter (CWS) and their parents. The current follow-up study explored the same clients' solution-focused reflections 1 year later with respect to their perspectives of what changes had occurred over the course of therapy. Method Seven CWS (11–14 years old) and 12 of their parents, who were interviewed in the original Berquez et al. (2015) study, were interviewed again 1 year after they started therapy. These clients responded to open-ended, solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)–style questions and rating scales. Their responses were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed to identify what clients noticed had changed over the course of therapy. Result CWS and their parents reported changes spanning social communication abilities, cognitive-emotional skills, and speech management strategies. While these were consistent with their pretherapy best hopes, CWS and their parents identified additional, unexpected gains beyond the scope of what they originally hoped for at the beginning of therapy, including improvements in adaptive coping, academic experience, parent–child interactions, thoughts and feelings about stuttering, and personal growth. Conclusion SFBT can provide speech-language pathologists a framework for facilitating client reflections on positive signs of change that occur over the therapeutic process.

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Purpose: This qualitative analysis aimed to understand therapy outcomes from the viewpoint of children who have completed an intensive ten-day stuttering therapy program. There have been reports of quantitative outcomes of stuttering therapy (e.g., changes in stuttering frequency, changes in OASES scores), but there is a gap in the literature regarding children's views on therapeutic progress when provided with open-ended prompts. Methods: Seven children who stutter (mean age = 12;1, range 11;10-14;3), 6 males and 1 female, were prompted to answer the questions "what is going well?" and "what are small signs of progress?". These questions were answered on the first day of therapy and the last day of therapy (day 10) during individual face-to-face Solution Focused Brief Therapy (de Shazer, 1985) interviews with a skilled clinician. The responses were then phenomenologically analysed to uncover primary categories and subcategories. Results: Phenomenological analysis revealed that communication abilities, adaptive affective/cognitive status, and adequate social support were the three primary categories that children attributed to "what is going well" at both day 1 and day 10. Changes in communication, adaptive affective/cognitive status, and relaxed bodily state were the three primary categories related to "what are small signs of progress" at both day 1 and day 10. Conclusions: This insight into how children view their own competency and understand the steps needed to make positive changes is meaningful for clinicians working with children in this age group who stutter in order to inform clinical decision making and guide therapeutic activities. The results implicate the importance of helping children 1) realize positive aspects of the situation and 2) provide specific, detailed accounts of their goals so that goal-directed therapeutic progress can take place.