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From: Vivian Sisskin
Date: 06 Oct 2009
Time: 19:18:09 -0500
Remote Name: 96.231.199.60
Hi Josh, Good to hear from you again! Unfortunately, there is not a lot out there specifically on avoidance reduction therapy, although I keep meaning to write a clinical handbook. I guess I am too busy with therapy and teaching, which I love. The materials that are available don’t seem to capture the essence of the therapy, which is less about strategies or techniques and more about the process of self-acceptance as a PWS. When I say acceptance, I am really talking about a process… acknowledgement is not the same as acceptance. The process of acceptance includes acknowledging, but also tolerating, welcoming, and eventually embracing stuttering. This requires guidance and support. You are eventually changing your basic outlook on what is success and what is failure. Through the process of acceptance, success is no longer tied to fluency (or even comfortable speech), and failure is no longer tied to fluency failure or not living up to your own expectations of what you “should” be able to do in any speaking situation. My work with Joe Sheehan (my mentor) changed my notion of what stuttering is. He helped me see that it is a disorder of social self-presentation more than a disorder of fluency. His readings are full of humor, analogies and nuggets that will really drive home some of these points. Unfortunately the readings also contain information that we know is no longer valid, as we have learned so much from recent research from brain imaging, genetics, etc. However, in my opinion, the readings are timeless from a therapeutic perspective. If you can get hold of these two books (from the ‘70’s) from a used book store they will be a treat. 1. Sheehan, J.G. (1970). Stuttering: Research and therapy. New York, NY: Harper & Row. Read chapter 1 which is the only chapter still relevant. 2. Eisenson, J. (1975) Stuttering, a second symposium. NY: Harper and Row. Sheehan has a chapter (100 pages!), and well worth reading. If you can’t find them, check in with me in a while. I will be happy to put them in pdf format on my website for you to download. I think I will do that… I think there are many people who will enjoy them. Best of luck on your journey to self-acceptance, and may you let go of “all controls” on the way!