Improving the global public health problem of stuttering

Verbal communication is fundamental to quality of life and society. It is the mechanism underpinning daily interactions with others and is used from early in life to establish, develop, and sustain social and occupational networks.

Stuttering is a prevalent and debilitating genetic communication disorder that impairs quality of life and burdens all societies, regardless of race or culture.

We have effective treatments – but they are currently accessed by only a small fraction of the patients who need them.

That is about to change.

Once this project is complete, people who stutter will have free health care wherever they're located in the world.

We're going to have voices and videos of speech pathologists in a complex and interactive arrangement that will mimic the customised treatment limited – until now – to a face-to-face appointment.

Particularly exciting is scientific data suggesting that such digital treatment platforms could be an effective early intervention, and even a preventative measure before the disorder begins.

Our vision

Our vision is to improve the global public health problem of stuttering. We will leverage internet technology and deliver online consultations and interventions, develop a global workforce of specialist speech pathologists, and increase the number of dedicated future researchers. These efforts will support the Australian Stuttering Research Centre (ASRC) to continue fostering and developing the scale and scope of our ground-breaking research into the nature of stuttering to find solutions for people who stutter in Australia and worldwide.

This research, unique to the field, develops and trials digital platforms for speech and psychological treatment of children and adults who stutter. Access to clinic-based specialist speech pathologists for stuttering treatment is currently the domain of prosperous public and private health care resources in developed countries.

Our intention is to contribute positive change of global health and wellbeing to all communities. We can achieve this through accessible and cost-free digital platforms that can deliver standalone treatment to anyone with internet access, regardless of location or access to health care resources.

It represents a bold move to leverage our critically acclaimed, highly cited research, our globally recognised teaching, combined with our existing relationship and resource strengths, to build capacity and a sustainable income stream to support the ASRC. By taking this proactive approach we can best meet the needs of our funding partners and make an even greater contribution to the wellbeing of society.

Currently, there are more than 670 speech pathology training programs worldwide in more than 50 countries, none of which support advanced education for stuttering management. Our international teaching programs will directly benefit society by providing education about stuttering and its management to speech pathologists in those countries.

Investigator team: Professor Mark Onslow, Professor Ross Menzies, Professor Ann Packman, Associate Professor Susan O’Brian, Associate Professor Robyn Lowe, Dr Natasha Trajkovksi

Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)