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Good afternoon everyone.

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My name is Sarita Koushik.

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Five weeks ago I gave birth [br]to my first child.

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His name is Marley.

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I was asked to deliver my speech today [br]in approximately five minutes.

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As you can see,

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five minutes might not be enough time [br]for a person who stutters

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to really get their message across.

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As a matter of fact,

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many adults who stutter will not speak [br]in a public event like this.

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Research shows that advanced stuttering [br]is linked to mental health disorders

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including social phobia and anxiety;

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therefore, an early intervention program [br]is essential.

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However, receiving treatment [br]in a timely manner

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is not always possible, for two reasons.

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One: The demands for speech and language [br]pathology have increased around the world

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and have doubled to 16 months in parts of [br]Australia during the last year.

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And two: To meet those demands,

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clinical institutions are reducing the [br]number of allocated treatment sessions

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which may not be enough for stuttering [br]child to complete the treatment process.

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One such treatment is called [br]the Lidcombe Program;

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it's an early intervention [br]approach for stuttering.

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There are two stages of [br]a Lidcombe program.

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In stage one, the parent and child [br]visit clinician on a weekly basis

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and this continues until the child reaches[br]near zero levels of stuttering

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and then the child enters the [br]second stage which is maintenance.

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So the question is:

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How long does sessions [br]take during stage one?

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Well, evidence shows that in stage one [br]it takes 21 weekly clinic visits

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for 90% of children to reach [br]zero level of stuttering;

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however, with increased caseloads [br]and decreased numbers of clinic visits,

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clinicians are not adhering [br]to weekly sessions,

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but instead they're offering

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more intensive

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and less intensive treatment

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than the standard.

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So, the aim of my research is to evaluate [br]the effects of varying treatment schedules

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on number of clinic visits during [br]stage one of the Lidcombe program.

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Children in my study are randomly assigned[br]to one of three treatment options.

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In the first group

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they're receiving

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weekly treatment

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and we'll compare that

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to the other two groups.

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In the second they receive [br]twice weekly treatment

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and in the third group they receive [br]treatment every fortnight.

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So findings from my study will help [br]clinicians better manage their caseloads

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will help clinical institutions make [br]informed decision

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regarding optimal treatment sessions,

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but ultimately my research [br]will benefit the children.

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Not only will they receive an [br]effective treatment schedule

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in the management of their stuttering,

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but we will stop the stuttering [br]before it advances,

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ao that each child will have the equal [br]opportunity to speak in public events

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like TEDxNewy.

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause)