A pilot study to determine the feasibility of a cluster randomised controlled trial of an intervention to change peer attitudes towards children who stutter.

This was a pilot feasibility study, not a trial that tested whether the intervention works. Only eight schools were analysed, so the result depends heavily on a small number of clusters. The groups were unbalanced, with 149 children analysed in the intervention group and 252 in the control group. Many children were not analysed: 449 were recruited, but 401 were analysed. Schools reported time pressure and difficulty arranging repeated visits, which affected dropout and feasibility. The CCR was delivered as one package containing a social story, role play and teacher-led discussion, so the contribution of each component cannot be separated. The findings apply only to Western Cape South African schools in Quintiles 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Do not conclude that the classroom stuttering programme changes peer attitudes. The overall attitude measure did not show a clear difference at 1 or 6 months, and only one subscale showed a positive difference at 6 months. The programme was delivered as a package containing a social story, role play and teacher-led discussion, so the contribution of each component cannot be separated.