[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Gunars Neiders
Date: 11 Oct 2007
Time: 16:00:51 -0500
Remote Name: 67.171.0.68
Tara,..........Without any doubt Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy helped me the most because a) it helped me to accept myself unconditionally whether I stutter of not, b) it showed me that stuttering is not "awful" one can still lead a fulfilling life and enjoy life no matter how severely one stutters, c) it lead me to realize I did not have to have perfect speech, only more fluent, flowing forward moving speech, d) it helped me to get over low tolerance of frustration when therapy went to steps forward and one back, e) it helped me to get over discomfort anxiety so I was able to practice some of the tools of the other stuttering therapies, and f) it helped me to understand that even small improvements in Affect (shame, anxiety, guilt, etc.), Cognition (self-talk as telling myself I had to be perfect, stuttering can hold me back in vocational efforts, etc.) , Behavior (struggling) and Sensory perception (being more aware of what I was doing) the ABCS of chronic perseverative stuttering syndrome led to big improvements in the quality of life. The most important aspect from the other therapies was the importance of voluntary pseudo-stuttering (because it rewired my brain not to be anxious) and the various techniques such as easy onsets and pullouts, because it helped me to internalize that stuttering is something I do, not something that happens to me. But without the glue of REBT, everything else would be for naught. The cause of my stuttering was probably combination of inborn genetical predisposition, frustration with not being able to talk as well as others, early demands for perfect speech and the fact that my mother and father did not have time to listen to me because they were trying to keep allof us alive..........At the onset of developmental stuttering (ages 2-5) I would provide the child an environment where his or her speaking experience was joy, I would teach his or her parents to make sure that the child has all the time to speak when his or turn came, and I would not show any urgency or impatience with the child......I would give the message to the child that even though there might be some bumpy speech....there is nothing wrong with him or her.