Research programmes

Research at the Centre concentrates on investigating:

1) the nature of stammering, and
2) the effectiveness of therapy with children and teenagers who stammer,
with an emphasis on research that has potential relevance for the clinical work that we do.

Current Research Projects at MPC:
• Development of Palin Parent Rating Scales (PRS). Click here for more information about this study
• Factors associated with parents' responses on the Palin PRS. Click here for more information about this study
• Effectiveness of an intensive course for teenagers: Single subject studies
• Effectiveness of the children's intensive course (10-14 year olds)
             a group study
             a single subject study
• Temperamental Characteristics of school-aged children who stammer and their parents. Click here for more information about this study.

Recently completed projects:
• Stammering Information Programme: A Delphi study to find out what information is important for the educational workforce. Click here for more information about this study.
• Effectiveness of Palin Parent Child Interaction (Palin PCI). Click here for more information about this study.

If you would like any further information about the Palin PCI research programme please contact our research lead, Dr Sharon Millard, at the Centre sharonmillard@nhs.net.

Future Research

Would you like to be involved in research into stammering?
If you are a therapist considering research in the area and would like to talk about your ideas, we would be happy to talk with you. We are especially keen to encourage therapists to conduct single subject studies. It is extremely important that we learn more about the effectiveness of Palin PCI when conducted in different clinical contexts.

If you are a child who stammers, or a parent, we are always keen to hear your views about research into stammering and the therapy that is provided. While resources will limit what we can achieve, we would like to be guided by the opinions of people who stammer and their families, so if you have an idea about an area of research - please let us know!

In addition to giving your opinion about what research we should be conducting, you might also be interested in being part of a research study steering group; helping to develop an idea into a project; be involved in running a project; the analysis of the data collected; or writing articles, so that we can make the results accessible to a wider audience. You don't need any particular knowledge about research, just lots of enthusiasm!

There is also a training course for therapists, ‘Research and its application to clinical practice', to support therapists to develop their knowledge and skills in carrying out research. Take a look at when the next course is running.

A list of our publications can be found here.