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From: Patty Walton
Date: 20 Oct 2008
Time: 23:13:41 -0500
Remote Name: 71.218.97.38
Shirley- Your question is a god one. I look at therapy for preschool children and school age children on a continuum, instead of on an either/or basis. Techniuqes, strategies, and goals change subtly across this continuum so we must look more specifically at each child. I agree with Lee in that we must always treat stuttering as an acceptable behavior, which makes it tricky when we come to reinforcement of fluency. Because of the many differences in preschool stuttering and school age stuttering there are many things to consider. We can use more fun things with younger kids, but older kids face more social penalties for stuttering and have more developed attitudes and emotions regarding stuttering. So in the young child we are in effect preventing these attitudes and emotions from developing, and with the older child we need to change the attitudes and emotions. This needs to occur through effective counseling. Older kids need to know they we understand how they feel and that we accept and embrace their own goals for speech change. I am sure Lee will share you the work of Kristin Chmela..she has pioneered working on attitudes and emotions with this age group. always remember that the relationship you have the child is the catalyst for change in therapy. Find a way to connect with that child first and foremost, then consider the stuttering. Hope this helps. I think I may have gotten a bit wordy! Tell Lee I said hi.