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From: Ed Feuer
Date: 11 Oct 2008
Time: 12:38:26 -0500
Remote Name: 142.161.182.213
That's how Van Riper described the constant attempts to reinvent the wheel, meaning there's not very much new under the sun in the treatment of stuttering. Token therapy has been tried, clinic room fraud has been tried, phoney claims of "eclectic approach" have been tried, tongue-jockey quickie fixes have been tried, distractor devices have been tried, the pink pill has been tried, even arm-swinging has been tried. Through the years, variations of these things have been tried over and over and over and over and over and over again with the same sad result. One is reminded of Einstein's definition of Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But also throughout the years something else Van Riper said has stood as a beacon: "We feel that stuttering needs a global therapy, a total push, if it is to yield to clinical intervention and that it must be attacked from every quarter and with every available weapon." That wise counsel has not put into effect -- even by Van Riper. It is lamented that while SLPs know something about stuttering, they lack the necessary tools and those who possess the tools know nothing about stuttering. That is why I have called for bringing SLPs and relevant experts from outside speech-language pathology together in a coordinated multidisciplinary treatment team. That has never been tried. I think it's time . . . -- edfeuer@mts.net