Virtual reality as a therapy for stuttering Cover Image

Virtualna stvarnost kao terapija mucanja
Virtual reality as a therapy for stuttering

Author(s): Petra Marušić, Ana Leko Krhen
Subject(s): Language acquisition, Educational Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Inclusive Education / Inclusion, Pedagogy
Published by: Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet
Keywords: virtual reality; stuttering; stuttering therapy;

Summary/Abstract: Although virtual reality is most commonly associated with fun and games, it is used more frequently in medicine, psychology, and speech and language pathology. In psychology, virtual reality is recognized as a useful treatment or anxiety and different types of fears. Furthermore, research shows that virtual reality is more efficient in treating psychological disorders than classical treatment. Knowing that anxiety and fear of speaking are prominent components of stuttering, researchers started exploring virtual reality as a treatment for stuttering. This review summarises many of the findings from these endeavours. In the beginning, researchers were focused on finding statistically significant positive correlations between real life and virtual reality so that virtual reality could be used as a base for assessment and treatment for stuttering. Later, all the research arrived at a similar conclusion: therapy based on virtual reality reduces anxiety and improves speech fluency. There is currently no ongoing research related to this subject in Croatia.

  • Issue Year: 58/2022
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 104-118
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: English, Croatian