Evaluation of Effects of Gradual Increase Length and Complexity of Utterance (GILCU) Treatment Method on the Reduction of Dysfluency in School-Aged Children with Stuttering

Objectives: The Gradual Increase Length and Complexity of Utterance (GILCU) therapy&nbsp;method is a form of operant conditioning. This is a precise and controlled treatment that is done in 54 steps in 3 speech situations consisting of monologue, reading, and conversation. This&nbsp;study aimed at examining the effects of GILCU treatment method on the reduction of speech&nbsp;dysfluency of school-aged children with stuttering. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 32 children with stuttering (6-11 years old) who&nbsp;were referred to speech therapy clinics were selected using convenience sampling. Then, they&nbsp;were assigned into two groups. The first group was treated by GILCU therapy method by&nbsp;the researcher, and the second group was treated by traditional methods by another speech&nbsp;therapist. Both groups had fourteen 45-minute sessions that were conducted one to two times&nbsp;per week. Pre-test and post-test of both groups were assessed using the SSI-3 scores. The&nbsp;obtained data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, t-test, and covariance test. Results: Both groups had statistically significant difference (P<0.005) in the stuttered syllables&nbsp;frequency. The average of moments of stuttering from the maximum moments of stuttering&nbsp;and the physical activity were examined according to the speech situations such as reading&nbsp;and conversation. The first group (GILCU therapy method) did not show any statistically&nbsp;significant improvement (P>0.005) with respect to parameters of SSI-3 scores. Discussion: These results suggest that a non-programming treatment for stuttering may be&nbsp;effective with school-aged children who stutter.