Evaluation of the effect of selective and intensified attention training applied to children who stutter on the severity of stuttering

Evaluation of the Effect of Selective and Intensified Attention Training Applied to Children Who Stutter on the Severity of Stuttering Purpose: Stuttering is a fluency disorder that starts in early childhood and is seen in the form of repetitions, prolongations and blocks. Intensified attention is the ability to focus on only one of the stimuli when there is one or more stimuli. The aim of this study is to increase the attention level of individuals who stutter by ignoring the factors that prevent them from focusing on speech with intensive attention training. Material and Methods: A total of 24 children (12 stuttering children, 12 fluent speaking children) between the ages of 9 and 9 years and 11 months participated in this study. All participants were evaluated with the d2 attention tests and the Stuttering Severity Assessment Tool-4 (Kekemelik Şiddetini Değerlendirme Aracı-KEŞİDA-4) before and after the study. Intensive attention training was given to 12 children with stuttering. In the study, students' stuttering severity and attention levels were compared in terms of demographic variables. Results: According to the d2 attention test applied to stutterers before and after attention training, an increase in psychomotor and grasping speeds, a decrease in inattention and compliance problems were observed, and the results were statistically significant (p<0.05). In the evaluation of stuttering with KEŞİDA-4, a decrease was detected in the stuttering severity of the children according to the pretest and posttest results (p<0.05). Conclusion: There are many factors affecting stuttering and attention skill has an important place among these factors. According to the findings obtained in our study, it was observed that intensified attention training applied to individuals who stutter caused a decrease in the severity of stuttering and an increase in psychomotor speed. According to these findings, adding attention exercises to stuttering therapies may affect the process positively.