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From: Charlie Healey
Date: 02 Oct 2007
Time: 21:03:57 -0500
Remote Name: 76.84.69.211
Hi Emily, Thanks for your nice comments about the article and the CALMS model. Have I always been comfortable treating stuttering? Absolutely not! In my younger years, I made plenty of mistakes and I know that I wasn't sure what I was doing. I think that is natural for any person starting in the field but I can vividly remember times when I had no idea what I was doing during treatment. Fortunately, I don't think I did any person who stutters any harm but I know full well that I was uncomfortable with my knowledge and skills many years ago. I have learned an enormous amount from specializing in this area and have dedicated my career to helping people who stutter because one of my first clients as a graduate student was an adult who stuttered. The struggles I went through to help that man are memorable and I never want my students to feel what I felt. So, yes, what I wrote in the article is a reflection of what I learned through many years of making mistakes, doing good things, feeling the joy of helping children and adults who stutter, but also failing many times to make a difference. And, by no means have I stopped learning. I just attended an all day workshop from Dr. Scott Yaruss and I took away some new ideas and insights from his presentation. So, I never quite learning even after 30 years!