A Randomized Controlled Trial of Telepractice vs in-Clinic Stuttering Intervention for School-Age Egyptian Children who Stutter

Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of in-clinic and telespeech therapy on the outcomes of Egyptian participants with stuttering.Methods: We conducted this randomized controlled trial, an interventional study, on participants visiting the phoniatrics clinic, Center of Medical Excellence, at the National Research Center (NRC). Twenty school-aged Egyptian children who stutter received telespeech therapy sessions via Zoom, and 20 participants received in-clinic speech therapy for 9 months. The Stuttering Severity Instrument (SSI), Arabic edition, was used to determine the severity of stuttering before and after the intervention in both groups.Results: A significant reduction in the SSI scores was observed in the two groups (p <0.001). Also, stuttering severity decreased significantly in the two groups (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the SSI score after treatment (p=0.799), the SSI change (p=0.925), or the severity of stuttering after treatment between the two groups (p=0.723).Conclusion: No difference in outcomes was observed between telepractice and in-clinic therapy for treating stuttering in school-age Egyptian children. Telepractice is an effective method for delivering speech-language pathology services to these children.