Stuttering In School-Aged Children

What the research shows for 6 to 12 year olds

Four published studies have tested the Lidcombe Program and syllable-timed speech with 6 to 12 year olds. All were run by, or with, Australian stuttering researchers, and all are early-phase trials: every child received the treatment, so there was no untreated group to compare with. They are not the only studies at this age: other treatments have been tested too, including in an Australian controlled trial published in 1996 with children aged 9 to 14. The table covers the two approaches set out below.

Study	Children	Treatment	What was reported	Limits
Koushik and colleagues, 2009	11, aged 6 to 10	The Lidcombe Program	Stuttering fell from an average of 9.2% of syllables to 1.9% at follow-up, after a median of 8 clinic visits	Small, and based on clinic records looked at afterwards
Andrews and colleagues, 2012	10, aged 6 to 11	Syllable-timed speech	Nine months after starting, stuttering had fallen by more than half for 5 of the 10 children	Small, with wide variation between children
Andrews and colleagues, 2016	22, aged 6 to 11	Syllable-timed speech with parent feedback	For the 19 who finished the first stage, stuttering was down by an average of 77% a year later	Three children did not finish the first stage; wide variation
Johnson and colleagues, 2024	37, aged 6 to 12	The Lidcombe Program by video	12 children (32%) met the program's Stage 2 criteria within 12 months; at six months, 25 had improved in part	No comparison group; the authors call for randomised trials

These figures describe groups of children in research. They are not a forecast for one child, and in each study some children changed a great deal and some very little.

The 2024 telehealth Lidcombe trial, and its limits

The largest of the four studies, and the only one delivered entirely by video, was published in 2024. Speech pathologists ran the Lidcombe Program by video for 37 children aged 6 to 12, in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, with a parent doing the short daily practice at home.

• Six months after starting: 7 children (19%) had met the program's Stage 2 criteria, which means no stuttering or almost none. 25 children (68%) showed a partial response and 5 (14%) showed no response.
• Twelve months after starting: 12 children (32%) had met the Stage 2 criteria.
• How the children felt: scores for anxiety, the impact of stuttering and attitude to communication improved at 6 and 12 months. A follow-up paper published in 2026 found those improvements whether or not a child's stuttering had responded.

The limits matter. There was no comparison group, so the trial cannot show how much of the change was due to the treatment. The children were followed for 12 months only. The authors' own conclusion is that the Lidcombe Program may remove or nearly remove stuttering for about one third of children aged 6 to 12, that it is a reasonable clinical option in the meantime, and that randomised controlled trials are needed.

Because that trial was run by video, it is also the closest published match to how online stuttering therapy works.

The Lidcombe Program after age 6

The Lidcombe Program was developed for children younger than 6, and its treatment guide says it is also suitable for some children older than 6. The speech pathologist still leads it in weekly sessions, and a parent still does the short daily practice at home in the way she has shown them. The guide notes that the program's goals, and the criteria for moving to its second stage, may need to be adjusted for an older child.

How the program runs, stage by stage, is on the Lidcombe Program page.

Syllable-timed speech: the Westmead and Oakville programs

Syllable-timed speech is a way of talking in which every syllable gets the same beat and the same stress: "I. went. to. the. park. to. day." Speaking in this pattern stops or reduces stuttering for the moment, which has been known for a long time. In the treatment built on it, the speech pathologist teaches the pattern and the child practises it in sessions and at home with a parent.

The Australian Stuttering Research Centre describes two programs that use it.

• The Westmead Program uses syllable-timed speech alone. The Centre says that because it is simple it can be used with very young children; one of its trials was with children aged 3 to 4 and a half.
• The Oakville Program adds positive feedback from the parent for stutter-free speech, and the Centre says it is more often used with older children, including those of school age.

In the two school-age trials in the table above, the children were aged 6 to 11 and practised at close to normal speaking speed, in the clinic and in everyday conversation at home. The aim is not for a child to sound rhythmic afterwards. The Centre reports that the fluency children reach while practising carries over into their natural speech, and that regular practice is then withdrawn gradually.

This section describes the programs as they are published. It is not a list of what every child is offered: the approach for a child is settled after the assessment.

Treatments adapted from older ages

For older children, the Australian Stuttering Research Centre says speech pathologists may also adapt treatments used with teenagers and adults. Those treatments teach a new way of speaking that controls stuttering, and they ask more of the young person. The options at every age are set side by side in stuttering treatment compared. If your child is 12 and about to change schools, the page on stuttering in teenagers is the next one to read.

Teasing, reading aloud and class talks

School asks a child to talk in the ways that are hardest with a stutter. The Australian Stuttering Research Centre's resource for teachers says stuttering is often worse when a student is talking in front of a group or is put on the spot, that students who stutter may hide it by not volunteering answers or by saying as little as possible, and that they are at high risk of being teased or bullied.

The same resource asks a teacher to talk with the student privately: whether they are comfortable answering questions and reading aloud, whether they want stuttering discussed with the class, and whether anyone is teasing them. In class, it asks teachers not to call on the student first, not to interrupt and not to finish their sentences. A parent can ask for exactly those things, and the guide to whether stuttering counts as a disability explains why a school has to consider them. What to say, and how to handle class talks and oral assessments, is in stuttering at school.

A speech pathologist treats the stuttering and works on how a child communicates. If worry about talking is keeping your child out of activities or away from school, a psychologist is the right person for the anxiety itself, and the two can work side by side. Say so in the application.

If your child has had therapy before, or the stutter has come back

A stutter that returns in primary school after earlier treatment is a known pattern, not a failure by the child or the parent. The Lidcombe Program's guide plans for it: if the gains from treatment are not held, the speech pathologist brings parts of the program back in, with the family's help at home.

A child who has never had treatment can also start at this age. Either way the first step is the same: a stuttering assessment. Tell the speech pathologist what has been tried before and how your child responded. Parents of a younger brother or sister who has started stuttering can read about stuttering in toddlers and preschoolers, and the overview of all ages is stuttering in children.

Who provides the therapy

Dr Lauren Crumlish is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with a PhD from The University of Queensland, a 2024 Dean's Award for her thesis, and published research. She treats stuttering in children and teenagers, and she uses the Lidcombe Program. Dr Lauren is a speech pathologist, not a medical doctor.

Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability. Read more about Dr Lauren Crumlish, or apply to work with her.