About RESTART-DCM
Demands and Capacities Model based therapy for young children who stutter
About RESTART-DCM
The RESTART trial (De Sonneville-Koedoot et al, 2015) showed that RESTART-DCM based therapy and the Lidcombe Program for preschool children who stutter resulted in comparable outcomes at 18 months post randomisation. Therefore, parents can be offered a choice between these different approaches, supported by randomised trial evidence. With their choice they will be able to match their personal vision and/or circumstances. This can result in a greater chance of adherence to therapy and a better outcome. Please view
de Sonneville-Koedoot C, Stolk E, Rietveld T, Franken MC. (2015). Direct versus Indirect Treatment for Preschool Children who Stutter: The RESTART Randomized Trial. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0133758. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133758 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0133758
Within the scope of this research project ‘Cost-effectiveness of the Demands and Capacities Model (DCM) based treatment compared to the Lidcombe programme’, generally known as the RESTART-study, a therapy protocol was developed in 2007 based on the DCM therapy model. Almost 15 years later, this protocol was ripe for revision. In 2021 the description of the Method has been improved and updated. Worldwide developments in stuttering therapy in regard to, among other things, the neurodiversity paradigm and use of the term fluency, led to another, partial revision of the therapy model in 2024 (available soon).
The RESTART-DCM based therapy is a structured, indirect approach. We have characterized it as an indirect approach because it is directed at motor, linguistic, emotional and cognitive factors, which appear relevant for the frequency and severity of the individual child. It is not a direct approach such as the Lidcombe Program, a program which teaches parent to use contingencies to reinforce fluent speech and decrease stuttered speech. Some colleagues consider RESTART-DCM partly direct, because we also work with the child, not only with (the) parent(s).
Therapy for children who stutter
By the late eighties, the Demands and Capacities Model (DCM) approach had emerged as the standard therapy in the Netherlands for young children who stutter. The exact procedure followed however varied extensively. In some cases, parents were only given advice (e.g. to speak to their child more slowly, while in other cases, speech therapists (stuttering experts) gave, instead of advice, training to parents to achieve actual behavioural change. Some focused solely on reducing ‘demands’, while others also worked on reinforcing the ‘capacities’ of the child.
For purpose of a similar therapy approach during the study, the ZonMW project Cost Effectiveness of the Demands and Capacities Model based treatment compared to the Lidcombe Programme of early stuttering intervention: Randomised trial, the RESTART DCM Method manual was developed. In the final stage of the project, it was decided to make the protocol generally accessible. In 2021 and 2024 this protocol was thoroughly revised. For access to the manual use the download button on this page.
Workshops RESTART DCM
Demands and Capacities Model workshops in English
Workshops RESTART DCM
Since a description of the Method is not a substitute for a hands-on training in skills required to work together with parents on the defined treatment goals, workshops have been developed. These (highly interactive) workshops are designed for speech and language therapists who want to practice delivering the indirect RESTART-DCM therapy. RESTART-DCM offers basic and advanced workshops and refresher days. Speech therapists who have attended a workshop have access to extra materials on the private part of the RESTART-DCM website
Learning outcome of the basic workshop RESTART DCM
A workshop can be completed in different ways. We offer a workshop, online or face to face. These face to face workshops are usually in 3 days. The workshop that is given online is in 4 modules in blocks of 3 hours. The learning outcomes are similar.
Module 1: A 3-hour E-learning that provides a general introduction to the RESTART-DCM approach. In this interactive lecture, the background, the research base and a global overview of the therapy method will be presented.
Module 2 / day 1: This will start (Modules workshop) with an E-Learning (3 h) followed by live sessions. After Module 2/day 1 participants will be able to describe the rationale of the DCM-approach and DCM multifactorial assessment. They will have practiced specific elements of the assessment with a video assessment, selecting relevant demands to target in therapy, conducting a parent-clinician conference cf. RESTART-DCM approach and will have practiced therapy skills regarding reducing motoric and linguistic Demands of the child and the environment.
Module 3 / day 2: This will start (Modules workshop) with an E-Learning (3 h) followed by live sessions. After Module 3 / day 2 participants will have practiced therapy skills regarding reducing emotional and cognitive Demands of the child and the environment and increasing motoric , linguistic , emotional and cognitive Capacities. Closing this module, participants are invited to start using the Restart-DCM approach. This will also be possible when they will not have young stuttering children in their caseload at the time.
Module 4 / day 3: Before the start of Module 4 / day 3 participants are invited to submit any questions that may have about using the RESTART-DCM approach and they are expected to submit a (short) case study applying the approach. During Module 4 / day 3 participants will practice applying the RESTART-DCM approach in relevant aspects of the submitted case studies, and they will participate in ‘trouble shooting’ related to the questions asked.
Information Online Workshop 2025
RESTART-DCM organizes an international 4 Modules Workshop online at the following dates:
Module 1 E-learning (3 h) available from May 12
Module 2 E-learning (3 h) available from May 26 followed by 2 LIVE sessions of 3 hours each – June 10 and 11
Module 3 E-learning ( 3 h) available from June 10 followed by 2 LIVE sessions of 3 hours each – June 25 and 26
Module 4 3 LIVE sessions of 3 hours each – August 25, 26 and 27
The language of instruction will be English.
Participants who are outside the Central Europe time zone will be able to join us. Working hours will be 16 h – 19 h CET (Amsterdam time zone) suitable in terms of time for participants from the American continent.
If you are unable to attend all live sessions, there is the option to receive a link to a recording of a specific session for a maximum of 3 sessions. This link can be used up to two weeks after the session. To receive this link, submit a signed statement (Zoom Statement) after which you will receive the link for the specific recording.
The workshop will take place when the required minimum of participants is reached. Registration will remain open until April 1th. Registation information will follow before the end of this year on the website. If you want us to keep you informed about registration please use our contact form at the bottom of this page. For our cancellation policy click here. An updated version of all information about the workshop will become available soon and can then be accessed through the download button on this page.
Registration Online Workshop 2025
Registration will open in 2025. More information about the registration steps will follow. When you want to be informed when this update is posted please send an e-mail to: info@restartdcm.org or use our contact form.
Information on more Workshops 2025
More RESTART-DCM workshops, on venue, will be held in Poland and in Turkey at the request of a specific group.
For substantive information RESTART-DCM please use our contact form
Video coaching
Participants of the workshop can, after finishing the workshop, upload a video in which they show certain parts of their diagnostics and/or parts of a therapy session for supervision purposes. They receive feedback, possible alternatives and suggestions and focus points for therapy from RESTART-DCM trainers.
Booking a workshop
Interested in booking a RESTART-DCM workshop face to face in your country or hosting this online for your group, wanting to organize a refresher or follow-up workshop, you can email
Marie-Christene Franken
Ellen Laroes
e-mail: info@restartdcm.org or use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Workshop ONLINE or face to face at your own venue.
Every year, an international workshop is organized by RESTART-DCM in which English is the language of instruction. This workshop will again be given online in 2025. Times are suitable for participants outside the Central Europe Time zone (CET). Further information available on this page.
Another possibility is that the workshop is given abroad at the request of a group of speech and language therapists. In that case the organization is done by the hosting party in close consultation with the RESTART DCM trainers. Please use the contact form at the bottom of this page if you are interested in the possibility of hosting a workshop in your own country or hosting online.
Trainers RESTART-DCM
Marie-Christine Franken, PhD, is a clinical linguist (University of Nijmegen, 1985), speech therapist (Hogeschool Nijmegen, 1989), stuttering therapist (NVST 1991, ESS 2011) and an associate professor (Erasmus MC Rotterdam, 2024). Her PhD thesis (University of Nijmegen, 1997) was on the Evaluation of Stutter Therapy. Her current research focuses on outcomes of stuttering therapy at a young age and on the causal and risk factors of stuttering. Since 2015 she has been training speech therapists in the RESTART-DCM Method, nationally and internationally.
Ellen Laroes, BHS, is a speech therapist (Zuyd Hogeschool, Heerlen 1985) and stuttering therapist (LCH 1986, NVST 1987, ESS 2011). Ellen is co-owner of a speech therapy practice specialized in stuttering. She is a member of the Dutch Association for Stuttering Therapy (NVST) and registered in the CESS register. For many years, she taught in the area of fluency disorders at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and is one of the participating therapists in the RESTART study. Since 2015, she has been training speech therapists in the RESTART-DCM Method, nationally and internationally.
Femke de Smit, MSc, graduated as a speech therapist (Hanzehogeschool Groningen, 2008), then specialised as a stuttering therapist (ESS, 2011). Femke is co-owner of a speech-language therapy practice, leader of the team of speech therapists and specialised stuttering therapists. She is a member of the Dutch Association for Stuttering Therapy (NVST) and has been training clinicians in the use of the RESTART-DCM method since 2021.
Joeri van Ormondt, MSc, is a speech therapist (Hanzehogeschool Groningen, 2016) and specialised stuttering therapist (ESS, 2017). He is a board member of CESS and is a registered CESS stuttering therapist. Joeri owns a private practice specialising in stuttering. He is a member of the Dutch Association for Stuttering Therapy (NVST), a teacher and coach for the ESS and, since 2023, a RESTART-DCM trainer for speech therapists. He is a person who stutters and is an active -and proud- member of the community.
Lottie Stipdonk, PhD, is a clinical linguist (Utrecht University, 2011) and speech therapist (Hogeschool Utrecht, 2012) and a stuttering therapist (ESS 2024). Lottie works at Erasmus MC and combines her clinical work (in the diagnosis and treatment of children who stutter) with her research on stuttering. After completing her PhD thesis on language development in very preterm infants, her research is currently entirely focused on stuttering,. She is a RESTART-DCM trainer since 2025.
| RESTART-DCM | registration 2025 – will be opened in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Date | Module 1: e-learning (3 h) available 1 week before the start of Module 2
Module 2: start e-learning (3 h) available 2 weeks before the live sessions of Module 2 on June 10 and 11, 2025 (2 x 3 h live sessions) Module 3: start e-learning (3 h) available 2 weeks before the live sessions of Module 3 on June 25 and 26, 2025(2 x 3 h live sessions) Module 4: 3 live sessions (3 h each) on August 25, 26 and 27, 2025 |
| Time | 16:00 – 19:00 h (Amsterdam time) |
| Location | Online |
| Trainers | Marie-Christine Franken, PhD, SLT, CESS recognized Stuttering Specialist (CESS), clinical researcher, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Sophia Children’s hospital, Rotterdam (NL).
Joeri van Ormondt, SLT, CESS recognized Stuttering Specialist, owner of a private practice specialization in stuttering , mentor for the CESS and proud member of the stuttering community |
| Cost | Early bird registration (amount and date will be published in 2025)
Full payment (amout and date will be published in 2025) |
| Target group | speech and language therapists providing therapy (or aiming to provide) for young children who stutter using a multifactorial, structured, indirect therapy approach |
| Study load | 9 h e-learnings, 21 h online contact hours, 5 hours to thoroughly read the RESTART-DCM Method, 4 hours to complete a practical assignment between Module 3 and 4. |
| Group size | maximum of 24 NB with < 14 participants, only one teacher (instead of 2) will present module 2 and 3. In case < 12 participants, the workshop will be rescheduled. |
| Certification | certificate of participation (30 h) and completion of the practical assignment (4 h) |
| Contact information | info@restartdcm.org. For update on registration info please use the contact form at the bottom of this page |