Camperdown
Program
Presented by
Josie Kilde and
Candace Mariucci
What is the Camperdown
Program?
⚫The Camperdown Program is a
behavioral treatment for adults
who stutter.
⚫Four Stages:
Individual Teaching Sessions
Group Practice Day
Individual Problem-Solving Sessions
Performance Contingent Maintenance
Stage
How is this approach
classified?
⚫The Camperdown Program is a
fluency shaping approach
Fluency shaping models include altered
vocalization or enhancement of the
speaking rhythm
Assumes stuttering is a learned behavior
Helps people who stutter feel more
positive about themselves as
communicators
Theoretical
Rationales
⚫ The Camperdown Program teaches
Prolonged Speech (PS) without making
reference to terms of traditional
speech targets such as “gentle onsets”
and “soft contacts”
⚫ Clients are encouraged to use
whatever features of the PS pattern
they desire to control stuttering and
are free to individualize their own
behaviors.
Style of Presentation
⚫ Individual Teaching Sessions
3-5 sessions to learn to produce prolonged speech in a 3-
minute monologue
Progress to next stage when two clinicians agree that
speech is “stutter free” for 3 minutes
⚫ Group Practice Day
14 cycles (6 have three 5-minute phases, 8 have 20-minute
group conversations)
The goal is 1-3 on the naturalness scale and 1-2 on the
severity scale
⚫ Individual Problem-Solving Sessions
1 hour sessions, weekly
⚫ Maintenance Schedule
Steps are scheduled at intervals of 2 weeks, 2 weeks, 4
weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
If client fails at any step, he/she must repeat it
Measurement of Success
⚫9-Point Rating Scale
Severity Rating Scale
⚫1 = no stuttering
⚫9 = extremely severe stuttering
Naturalness Rating Scale
⚫1 = extremely natural sounding speech
⚫9 = extremely unnatural sounding speech
Used by both clinicians and clients
Goal is to have rating of clinician and
rating of client be similar
Generalization and
Maintenance
⚫ Maintenance stage follows a
performance-contingent schedule
One 10-minute within-clinic conversation
Three conversations recorded in different
environments
Meet program criteria
⚫ Discharge Criteria
Clients are discharged if they complete the
program criteria, do not comply with
program requirements, or withdraw from the
treatment program
Data Regarding Success
Rate
⚫12 months post-treatment:
Speech Outcome data are favorable
Participants spoke with minimal stuttering
rates up to 12 months after entry into the
program
Speech rates were within the normal range
Speech naturalness rates were favorable
There was some sign of relapse in 3 out of
16 participants 6-12 months post-treatment
Strengths and
Weaknesses
⚫ Strengths
Less time to learn the prolonged-speech
Clinical hours are reduced: 20 clinical hours can
produce significant outcomes
Advantages in the video procedure: greater likelihood of
effective learning, improves operations of the treatment
process, participant imitates the exemplar on the video
Does not involve online judgment of stuttering moments:
bypasses problems of clinician unreliability online
⚫ Weaknesses
This is a new way of teaching prolonged speech. The
procedure does not involve programmed instruction.
Does not deal with self-esteem issues
Would We Recommend
this Approach?
⚫YES!
The Camperdown Program is suitable for
adult clients with mild to severe
stuttering
Client does not have to dedicate weeks of
clinical time
Client does not need to learn complex
rules
Client does not need to use specialized
equipment
Treatment includes using a manual and
video tape
References
⚫ Manning, W.H. (2001). Clinical decision making in
fluency disorders (2nd Ed.). San Diego: Singular.
⚫ O’Brian, S., Onslow, M., Cream, A., & Packman, A. (2003).
The camperdown program: Outcomes of a new
prolonged-speech treatment model. Journal of
Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46(4)933-
948.
⚫ Onslow, M. (2000). Stuttering treatment for adults.
Current Therapeutics, 73-76.
⚫ Camperdown program treatment manual (2003). ASRC.
Retreived from
http://www3.fhs.usyd.edu.au/asrcwww/treatment/c
amperdown.htm. on 12/6/05.
