Introduction
Speech disorder, including stuttering, is a communication disorder that affects the production and fluency of speech. Stuttering is characterized by repetitions, stretching, pauses, or involuntary stuttering in sounds, syllables, and words. It is prevalent in about 5% of adolescents and 20% of the overall population. Stuttering can have a significant impact on communication abilities and may lead to psychological issues such as emotional disturbance, low cognitive flexibility, and perceptual speech problems. The current research aims to implement the "acceptance and commitment training" to determine its effectiveness on the academic emotions of students with stuttering disorder.
Method
The research used a single-subject design with different subjects, including 3 second-grade high school students with stuttering disorder. The students went through baseline, treatment, and follow-up stages. Student names were obtained from the social harms section of Khoi city's education management. Participants were second-year high school students with stuttering disorder, who hadn't received prior psychological intervention and met the entry and exit criteria. Participants with physical or sensory issues or who missed more than two sessions were excluded.
Results
A study was conducted with three student participants. Participant one is a 16-year-old boy in 11th grade with a history of late speech development. Participant two is a 17.5-year-old girl in 12th grade who struggles with speech fluency and accuracy. Participant three is a 15-year-old girl in 10th grade with speech problems and academic difficulties. The study includes detailed information about their backgrounds and the psychological assessments conducted. This information provides valuable insights for addressing their unique needs in the treatment process.
Discussion
The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program in improving positive and negative academic emotions among second-year high school students who stutter. The analysis revealed that the ACT intervention had a significant positive effect on enhancing both positive and negative academic emotions in the participants. The ACT-based therapy facilitated students' ability to replace negative academic emotions with more positive experiences in the classroom, moving away from cognitive avoidance. However, the researchers acknowledged the uncontrollable nature of factors influencing academic emotions, such as personality traits, school environment, and personal/cultural beliefs, as a limitation of the study. Future research should consider the impact of additional variables, including personality and religious factors, as well as the program's effectiveness with other neurodevelopmental populations and socioeconomic groups. Additionally, comparing the outcomes of individual counseling with parents to group-based education would provide valuable insights for the implementation of this therapeutic approach.