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From: David Shapiro
Date: 09 Oct 2007
Time: 13:01:39 -0500
Remote Name: 156.83.1.251
Hi Jennifer, Thanks for your thoughts. I am glad that you enjoyed my writing. Indeed stuttering has affected me as a person and as a professional. I am writing to you from the Netherlands where I am working with an extremely talented group of clinicians who are devoted to serving people who stutter and their families. My work with people who stutter and their families and clinicians in many countries around the world would never have happened if I had not needed to confront my own stuttering and to find my way through the forest. Yes, most clients and families believe that those of us who stutter or who have stuttered might have a window into their experience; nobody can tell us that we haven’t been there. However, we also run a risk that other clinicians might not; i.e., assuming our experiences and reactions upon a client. That risk can be controlled for as long as we are aware that the risk exists. I might add that I don’t believe that one needs to stutter or to have stuttered to work effectively with people who stutter. All of us can relate to the human condition, our struggles and challenges, our failures, and our victories. That might be part of what enables a clinician to be real. Keep up the excellent questions and good luck. David Shapiro