Camperdown Program

About: The Camperdown Program is an Australian stuttering therapy program for adults and adolescents. The programs uses prolonged speech but is not fluency shaping. The subject watches a video of prolonged speech at about one second per syllable (four times slower than normal speech). The subject then imitates the video, and a speech-language pathologist gives feedback. This is called modeling. Unlike fluency shaping, the Camperdown Program doesn’t use target behaviors, e.g., diaphragmatic breathing, continuous phonation, etc. Instead, “participants are instructed to use whatever part(s) of the [prolonged speech] pattern they wish in order to control stuttering, rather than being told that the critical treatment agents are certain target speech behaviors. Participants are free to speak at whatever rate they wish.”

Evidence: Two studies have been published:

Of 30 stutterers (17 to 58 years old), 14 dropped out. Of these, half left because they disliked the slow speech. The 16 subjects who completed the program were all under 5% stuttered syllables and most were under 1%. No follow-up was done after the maintenance phase was completed.[ref]Sue O’Brian, Mark Onslow, Angela Cream, and Ann Packman (2003). The Camperdown Program: Outcomes of a New Prolonged-Speech Treatment Model. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2003 46: 933-946. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2003/073)[/ref]
Of three adolescents (13 to 16 years old), two were successfully treated, but a third subject relapsed six months after treatment.[ref]Brenda Carey, Sue O’Brian, Mark Onslow, Ann Packman, and Ross Menzies. (2012) Webcam Delivery of the Camperdown Program for Adolescents Who Stutter: A Phase I Trial. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch, 43: 370-380. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2011/11-0010)[/ref]

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1 reviews

Tom

Jun 13, 2011

by Tom

Highly unnatural, lack of transfer

The Camperdown Program is a fluency shaping program. Camperdown is about using prolonged Speech. You watch a video demonstrating fluency shaping and prolonged speech techniques and you try to model and learn how to talk like the person in the video.

You read the rainbow speech over and over and over again as a way to learn prolonged speech implicitly. The learning was quick.

The learning is supposed to be implicit vs. explicit. Since you are learning by watching a model and demonstration of the prolonged speech technique.

One weakness of the program is that the stutterer is fluent inside the clinic while reading using prolonged speech. But what about normal everyday conversations outside the clinic???

So there was a lack of transfer from inside the clinic to outside real-world situations.

But you are fluent 100% inside the clinic reading…

However, I don't stutter much while reading something anyway…

You also rate your stuttering severity on a scale from 1 (no stuttering) to 10 (worst stuttering). And the goal is to try to maintain a goal of 1 (no stuttering). The Camperdown program is highly unnatural.