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From: Kristen Porter
Date: 05 Oct 2009
Time: 09:47:47 -0500
Remote Name: 157.182.15.42
I really enjoyed reading your article, Dr. Mallard. I am a graduate student at West Virginia University, and I would love to work in the school system after I graduate. I was completely engrossed in this article because it really sheds light on a different style of therapy that takes into account the child and his/her family and not just the stuttering. We have just started learning about therapy approaches in our advanced stuttering course, but we have already learned the importance of family involvement. I feel like this approach is very appropriate for children, especially borderline or beginning stutterers because it may help them develop more fluent speech at a faster rate, allow them to develop their own techniques for controlling their stuttering, and boost their confidence and self-esteem. I do have a question for you though concerning the involvement of teachers in your therapy plan. I have put in quite a few hours observing and assisting in the school systems, and I feel that it may be hard to obtain teacher cooperation in some cases, especially since there are approximately 25 other children in the classroom who require attention as well. Individualized attention can be very hard in a classroom setting. I would like to know first, how easily it is to get the teachers to help with this therapy program and how you go about encouraging them to help, and second, once they are willing to help, how well are they able to work on the program and keep it going. I thank you for this article and for any responses you may have for me.