Online Stuttering Therapy By Telehealth

The telehealth evidence, by program and age

Study	Who took part	How treatment was given	What it found	Its limits
Lewis and others, 2008	Preschool children	The Lidcombe Program, taught to parents at home by telephone, compared with no treatment	Stuttering was 73% lower than in the untreated group at nine months	Telephone only, with no video. It took about three times the resources of clinic treatment
Bridgman and others, 2016	49 children aged 3 to 5	The Lidcombe Program by webcam, compared with the same program in a clinic	No evidence of a difference in stuttering at nine months, in parents' severity ratings, or in how parents rated the relationship with the speech pathologist	One trial. No evidence of a difference is not proof that the two are identical
Carey and others, 2014	16 teenagers	The Camperdown Program by webcam, with no clinic visits	14 finished. Average stuttering fell from 6.1% to 2.8% of syllables, measured 12 months after the maintenance stage began	No comparison group. It worked well for about half, and half showed little change in avoiding speaking situations
Johnson and others, 2024	37 children aged 6 to 12	The Lidcombe Program, with parents taught by video	12 children (32%) reached the program's Stage 2 criteria within 12 months. At six months most of the others showed a partial response and five showed none	No comparison group. The authors call for randomised trials

The telehealth evidence for stuttering therapy is strongest before age 6 and thinner after it, which matches the evidence for stuttering treatment in general. No trial covers every program, every age or every child, and none is a promise about one family's result.

Why stuttering treatment for a young child suits video

Stuttering treatment for a young child suits video because everything the speech pathologist does in a Lidcombe Program session can be seen and heard on a call. She listens to the child talk, measures the stuttering, watches the short daily practice, shows any change she wants made and sets the plan for the week. A young child only needs to play and talk.

Video also puts the session in the room where the practice happens, with the child's own books and toys, so what Dr Lauren shows you is already set up for home. The full program is set out in the Lidcombe Program, step by step.

How an online session differs at 3, 9 and 15

At 3. A 3 year old is not asked to sit and work at a screen. Under the Lidcombe treatment guide the child chats or plays for a few minutes so the speech pathologist can hear and rate their talking, she watches a short practice session, and she uses the rest of the session to review the week, show the parent any change and set the plan. The guide describes the child's part as joining in and having fun. A recording from home can stand in if a child will not talk on camera. More on this age: stuttering in toddlers and preschoolers.

At 9. For a 9 year old the choice of treatment is less settled. The Australian Stuttering Research Centre says the programs used with younger children may be adapted, or programs used with teenagers may be. In the 2024 trial with 6 to 12 year olds, the Lidcombe Program was run by video with a parent taking part. That trial also measured anxiety and how children felt about talking, because by this age those matter alongside the stuttering itself. More on this age: stuttering in school-aged children.

At 15. A teenager works with the speech pathologist directly. In the 2014 webcam trial, teenagers learned a way of speaking that reduces stuttering, first slowly and then at a natural-sounding rate, and practised it between sessions. The Australian Stuttering Research Centre notes that teenagers tend to like video because they already use devices every day. More on this age: stuttering in teenagers.

With school-aged children and teenagers, Dr Lauren works with the child directly. Which approach she uses is set in the plan that follows the stuttering assessment.

When in-person help is the better choice

Online stuttering therapy is not the right choice for every family. Look for a speech pathologist who works in person if any of these apply.

• No reliable internet or private space. A call that drops, or a room where the family can be overheard, gets in the way of every session.
• No adult can sit in. With a child under 6 a parent or carer sits beside the child in every session and does the short practice at home. If no adult can attend, video will not work, and neither will the Lidcombe Program.
• Your child or teenager will not use a screen for this. Some young people find a camera harder than a room. A recording can cover a quiet day, not every session.
• You simply prefer it. A family who would feel more confident with the speech pathologist in the same room should choose that.
• You are an adult who stutters. Dr Lauren works with children and teenagers up to 18.

Speech Pathology Australia's Find a Speech Pathologist search lists Certified Practising Speech Pathologists and can be filtered to stuttering. Where a teenager's main difficulty is anxiety about speaking, a psychologist is the right person for that part. The Australian Stuttering Research Centre names cognitive behaviour therapy as the treatment of choice for social anxiety.

Who you would work with

Dr Lauren Crumlish holds a PhD from The University of Queensland and is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist. She treats stuttering in children and teenagers and uses the Lidcombe Program. Dr Lauren is a speech pathologist, not a medical doctor.

Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability. Read more about Dr Lauren Crumlish, or Apply Now.

Sources

• Bridgman and others (2016), Lidcombe Program webcam treatment: a randomised controlled trial
• Lewis and others (2008), telehealth delivery of the Lidcombe Program
• Carey and others (2014), webcam delivery of the Camperdown Program for adolescents
• Johnson and others (2024), Lidcombe Program by telehealth for children aged 6 to 12
• The Lidcombe Program Treatment Guide, version 1.7c (August 2025)
• Australian Stuttering Research Centre: Treatment for stuttering