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From: Alan Badmington
Date: 18 Oct 2008
Time: 03:45:28 -0500
Remote Name: 195.194.75.225
Hi Ryan and John, I had a particular interest in your paper because I wore I wore an Edinburgh Masker for 20 years. Although the apparatus never eliminated my stutter, it gave me the confidence to venture into situations that I might, otherwise, have avoided. Consequently, I expanded my comfort zones and developed my interpersonal skills. Despite experiencing considerable setbacks, I built a system that would eventually support greater fluency and self-expression later in life. I am in no doubt that, had it not been for the Edinburgh Masker, I would never have been in such a favourable position to take advantage of another approach when it subsequently became available. The device provided invaluable assistance when it was most needed. Without it, I would have floundered. Reflecting on my lengthy experience of wearing the Edinburgh Masker, I have become increasingly appreciative of the important interim contribution that it made in, subsequently, enabling me to deal with my stuttering problem. Based upon my personal experiences of using the Edinburgh Masker, I feel that such devices can play an important role in improving the quality of life of some PWS. I have no hesitation in saying that I would have shirked many of the challenges and responsibilities that I accepted during the 20 years that I persevered with the device, particularly whilst on police duty. When we expand our comfort zones, and tread unfamiliar paths, we grow as human beings. The Masker certainly aided my personal development. With hindsight (isn't it a wonderful thing?), I feel that I could have made more effective use of the Masker in relation to one specific area of my stuttering. Although I faced many challenging situations (both on police duty and within social environments), I realise that I still succumbed to some avoidances. In particular, I continued to practise substantial word substitution. I could have derived greater benefit had I used the machine to deal with the avoidance issue. I feel that if we simply take possession of a prosthetic device, and confine ourselves to our safe environments, then we will, forever, retain our fears of speaking in more challenging situations. If we continue to practise approach avoidance, then we will continue to have self-limiting beliefs about the words, and situations, from which we choose to shelter. It is of prime important that prosthetic devices should not be viewed as a 'quick-fix' or a 'cure'. In my opinion, they are best used (perhaps in conjunction with some kind of therapy, approach, or stuttering management) to assist the wearers to challenge their fears and self-limiting beliefs and expand their comfort zones. As I discovered, there is a need to change the stuttering mindset. Our thoughts and actions are shaped by our beliefs and self-image. As long as we continue to hold self-limiting beliefs, or fail to change the way that we see ourselves, we will continue to act in accordance with those beliefs and image. Kindest regards Alan