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From: Walt Manning
Date: 06 Oct 2010
Time: 14:14:23 -0500
Remote Name: 24.159.221.218
The nature of stuttering and the problem it represents for older speakers has not received a lot of attention in the literature. What evidence there is indicates that older speakers who have stuttered for years have about the same level of severity as younger speakers who are about to enter treatment. However, the stuttering often represents less of a handicap as people have achieved successes in life and learned to adjust to their problem. As a result, there are very few people over 50 who seek formal treatment. One reason may be that previous experiences with therapy were less than effective. If a person is interested in seeking treatment the key issue is finding an understanding and experienced clinician with whom you feel comfortable. As we have seen from some of the previous posts, individual (or group therapy) experiences can be very useful. Opportunities for reassessment and change occur later in life as people take the opportunity to do something about a problem that they have put into the background for much of their lives. As a result, people are apt to readjust old responses to lifelong problems. The support and direction provided by some brief therapy (or interaction with a support group such as the National Stuttering Association or Friends) may inform and refine self-directed change and improve the quality of life.