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From: Pam
Date: 13 Oct 2009
Time: 21:42:01 -0500
Remote Name: 67.248.58.128
Hi Stephanie, I think its important for any person who stutters who decided to be in therapy to know WHAT they want in therapy. I have met and talked to kids at Friends conferences who are "made" to go to therapy by their parents because its in theirbest interest. So there may be buy-in issues. I have heard parents talk about feeling guilty pressuring their kid too much to work on techniques. I think a person who had therapy as a child is going to view adult therapy entirtely differently and there may be many reasons why to go to therapy. As you know, stuttering therapy is not just about stuttering. Thats why it is so complex. There are so many emotional issues attached to fluency issues, thats why some SLPs hesitate to work with PWS. In my case, therapy for the one year I had it in public school in 3rd grade had no impact. It didn't change my speech and had no real meaningful impact on me. As an adult, when I finally reached out and sought support, it wasn't becasue I didn't like how I talked, it was for the internal struggle I felt from not being my authentic self all these years. That internal struggle was suffocating me. Thats why I needed support. From feeling supported, thats where I began to see the value in learning about the mechanics of speech and how I stutter. I still am not comfortable with using fluency techniques, and its been three years. But I am a lot more comfortable stuttering, and thats progress. For some, that may be enough. Its totally an individual decision. Hmmm . . . I don't know if I answered your question. There is value in choosing to enter therapy an any age or time - if its a choice the person who stutters has made.