The Lidcombe Program After 35 years: empirical, theoretical, and social contexts

Purpose: Thirty-five years ago, the Lidcombe Program was introduced as a new evidence-based treatment for early stuttering. This milestone presents an opportunity to examine the Lidcombe Program and its relevance today. Method: Four Lidcombe Program developers, together with 17 members of the Lidcombe Program Trainers Consortium, reflected on the program's historic origins, early reception, current status, and future direction. Conclusions: This review of the program explores its origins in the context of causal theories of stuttering and its place in the modern clinical context. We point out that the Lidcombe Program intervention process incorporates social and medical perspectives of childhood stuttering. Empirical knowledge about stuttering and its effects early in life are considered. We consider the evidence base supporting the Lidcombe Program and its implementation in the current international speech-language pathology community. We also consider future directions for the treatment.