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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 20 Oct 2008
Time: 01:01:55 -0500
Remote Name: 70.104.19.41
Hi Nancy, You're absolutely correct that these interviews are a wonderful way for both groups to get to know one another. .... Your question about pseudo stuttering is a good one, but very different. It's not an either/or situation, it's really BOTH. Both exercises are extremely valuable, believe me. I know that students tend to have a morbid fear of pseudo stuttering - as do a lot of people who stutter. But to truly understand what it's like to stutter, pseudo stuttering (also called Voluntary Stuttering or VS) is an invaluable exercise. And it does NOT have to be frightening. Start out v-v-very easily and you c-c-c-can see that other p-p-p-people don't really react to it nearly as much you imagine they d-d-d-do. Once you get the hang of it, and you get braver and braver, you can R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-REALLY have some huge B---------------------BLOCKS and see if you can reach the point where people really DO react to it. You'll be amazed at what you learn. An SLP professor friend of mine - totally fluent - did that to a state trooper who stopped him for speeding once and the cop felt so sorry for him that he let him off with a warning! Ha, ha, ha! That never happens to me! The professor is a world class SLP professor and believe me he can stutter with the best of us! But as they say, "He is a professional. Don't try this at home!" Ha, ha, ha! ..... If you want to learn more about pseudo stuttering, let me know and I can sign you up for the Stutt-L listserv where VS is discussed quite often. .... I wish you the best, Nancy. .... Russ