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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 10 Oct 2007
Time: 11:04:44 -0500
Remote Name: 157.182.15.19
Hello Mark, Thanks for your comments and questions. Yes, we do agree that a great deal of the disorder of stuttering is comprised of the negative feelings, attitudes, belief, and actions that are limiting to the person. Those are primarily the aspects we attempt to address in our group therapy. You asked about how we deal with the problem some stutterers have with authority figures. (By this, I am assuming that stutterers have more difficulty talking to these people rather than have an "attitude" about anyone in authority.) We have not had a group specifically on this topic, but you have given me a good idea. <smile> Even so, we have dealt with difficulties speaking to certain people or groups of people on several occasions. Typically, we have group members reflect on their own experiences and then share them with the group in a number of interesting ways, e.g., role play communication interactions where one stutterer becomes an obnoxious conversation partner. We only do this with group members who are not new and who also are friends. Even though they can be pretty hard on one other, they know of course that the interactions are not real. The experience is typically entertaining but empowering in the sense that negative reactions can be laughed off. We have also had people try to analyze why certain people are more difficult to talk to than others. Insight into the cues for anxiety and avoidance often weaken them. Finally, I absolutely agree that taking leadership positions can be extremely empowering for people who stutter. Personally, I have not had much luck in our support groups (not the group therapy) in getting people to take leadership roles. I don't think it has been a matter of fear or weakness on the part of the members so much as it has been the preference not to spend the time planning meetings, contacting people, etc. Thanks again. I hope all is well Down Under. Cheers, Ken