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From: Andy Floyd
Date: 14 Oct 2007
Time: 23:17:38 -0500
Remote Name: 76.25.134.55
Yes, I do feel having some confidence up front was a large kick in the rear that propelled me to future successes. Just the feeling of talking in front of a crowd - even without using any tools - was an adrenaline rush that enabled me to push forward while using the tools. In working with teens, I like being as open, honest and straight-forward with them as possible. We talk about stuttering not as this huge embarrassing, shameful thing, but as black and white as possible. Peter Reitzes, in his book 50 great activities for children who stutter, talks about some neat things to do in therapy to work on emotions/attitude. Pseudostuttering is huge as well as teaching them a tool to use while blocking (like pull-outs) is essential in my opinion. I know I felt helpless while stuttering until I learned that tool and it felt really good to have some "power" to do something.