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From: Sandra Merlo
Date: 14 Oct 2008
Time: 15:25:18 -0500
Remote Name: 201.95.36.188
Dear Julianne, thank you for your question. We do not fully understand the concept of fluency, but we certainly know important aspects about it. And we also do not fully understand the cause of stuttering, but we also certainly know important aspects about it. So we have many things to learn, but this does not mean that we do not know many things. Therefore I think we have conditions to provide a good treatment for people who stutter. In my opinion, three important aspects must be observed. First, the person who stutters must understand the disorder (what stuttering is, why fluency varies from moment to moment, what he/she can do to manage the disorder, etc). If the person does not know about stuttering, he/she will never know how to take care of himself/herself. Second, speech techniques are very useful, but I think they should be used to improve fluency as a whole and not just to decrease stuttered disfluencies. Third, it is also necessary to manage the emotional reactions associated with stuttering (freezing response). This must be done to improve well-being. Best regards, Sandra