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From: Kevin Eldridge
Date: 15 Oct 2010
Time: 00:10:07 -0500
Remote Name: 71.201.115.194
I was about to call it a night, but decided to put a little more wine in my glass and reply to this anonymous post. I don't' agree with your first statement that SLPs feel threatened by PWS, but I will agree with your second that way too many SLPs focus on technique, technique, technique. I would argue that this is due in part to to ASHA's willingness to certify an SLP to treat any disorder without requiring that they take a course or treat a client with every disorder. If you don't understand the disorder, techniques seem to make sense. I can assure you however that the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders will NOT grant Board recognition to someone who only "thinks technique". I can say that with authority because I have been on the Board for 3 years. I'll also disagree with you on why kids avoid stuttering with their SLP. I for one, didn't want to make my SLP feel good, as much as I wanted to please her. I wanted her to be proud of me and how I was doing in therapy. Heck, I wanted everyone to be proud of me. This was a big part of my problem :-) Because of this, I wasn't totally honest about difficulties I was having. Was this entirely her fault? I would argue no. I also agree with you that many people who stutter have been frustrated with their SLPs. Does the field really understand this? Probably not to its full extent. But that is partly because PWS don't let their SLP know they are unhappy. If we are going to start throwing blame around, it is going to be on everything and everyone. As for medication, I am not against medication. If there was a medication that worked, I'm guessing every SLP I know would be incredibly happy. Most of us who work with PWS, are passionate about helping them to communicate and will do whatever we can to help them accomplish that goal. I know that if I could simply tell a PWS or a parent of a PWS, that all they (or their child) had to do was take a pill, I'd buy stock in the company and put ads in the papers. As for the Speech Easy. In my opinion, it was marketed way before they had any data to show that it will be helpful in the long term. When I personally asked members of Joe Kalinowski's lab why they were pushing the product before they had proof it would work in the long run, they told me that they owed it PWS to make it available. I didn't the explanation then, and I don't buy it now. Don't get me wrong. When I was 15 and terrified to talk, I would have begged my parents to spend the cash for the cure. But the research just isn't there. And on top of that, I work with people who tried it and abandoned it. Granted, those who it works for, wouldn't come to see me, but I am yet to be convinced. Hey.. I wanted to believe the kool-aid would work. The data that I have seen (from labs other than those of the maker) suggest that most people end up putting it in a drawer. Finally, if you are upset as I am that people can be certified to treat PWS even if they have never had a class in stuttering and never worked with a PWS, call ASHA (the American Speech-Language Hearing Association) at 800-331-1212. SLPs who work with PWS have let them know we are not happy, but our complaints have fallen on deaf ears. Maybe if they start hearing from PWS they will listen. In closing, I think you brought up many good points. I've tried to point out where I agree and disagree. I hope this was helpful. There are stories told of how the "giants in the field" use to debate during the day and then have a beer together at night. I guess they realized that while they might disagree with each other, they were all fighting the same battle. I think you and I are fighting the same battle too, so it is counter productive to fight each other.