Find a stuttering specialist who uses evidence-based practice (EBP).

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are trained to be generalists, not specialists. They might have had a one semester course on stuttering, or a half a semester, or no classes on stuttering. You might be the first stutterer they’ve ever seen.

EBP means using treatments that have been proven effective in scientific studies. Few SLPs read scientific studies. They do what they were taught in graduate school, if they were taught anything, or do what their friends do.

I’ve been in this field for 25 years and I’ve seen that almost every SLP in private practice puts profit ahead of efficacy. They like therapies that keep you coming in twice a week at $125/hour for months or years. They want you to get a little better but not do so well that you stop coming. In contrast, EBP stuttering treatments are effective quickly.

If a SLP tells you not to do other treatments, find a new SLP. There’s no “one size fits all” stuttering therapy. EBP stuttering treatments can (should!) be combined with other EBP stuttering treatments.