Stimulation of the Thalamus to Ameliorate Persistent Disfluency

Persistent developmental stutter / childhood onset fluency disorder is a disabling condition leading to significant communication and psychological disability. Established treatment consists of intensive speech therapy, and whilst initially effective, has a waning long-term benefit. Our research team aims to provide evidence of stutter management by addressing the primary neurological issue in this disorder using Deep Brain Stimulation. The investigators propose to perform bilateral DBS on 3 participants with stutter refractory to intensive speech therapy, to determine a response in their stutter. The assessments will be double-blinded. The investigators will use the outcome of this small pilot study to determine the feasibility and details of a larger randomized controlled trial.