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From: Alan Badmington (to Israa)
Date: 12 Oct 2008
Time: 05:27:46 -0500
Remote Name: 80.46.78.239
Hi Israa, Thank you, so much, for taking the time to respond to my paper. During recent years, I have visited several American universities to speak with student speech-language therapists about various aspects of stuttering. I always speak about my personal experiences of stuttering, using a host of relevant anecdotes. Humour can be a very useful tool with which to convey an important message. To give students an insight into what it is like to live with stuttering, I touch upon such things as self-acceptance, expanding comfort zones, approach avoidance, negative self-talk, assertiveness, self-esteem, self-image, emotional baggage and the stuttering mindset. I also draw the students' attention to the importance of recognising the uniqueness of their future clients. I emphasise the need to make good use of listening skills; earn the respect of each individual, and appreciate the difficulties associated with transferring speech gains and techniques from a safe therapy environment into the outside world. I never fail to be impressed by the enthusiasm and interest displayed by the students. They have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and I am always inundated with questions. I genuinely believe that such interaction is to our mutual benefit. I wish you every suiccess with your studies. Kindest regards Alan