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From: Anita
Date: 16 Oct 2011
Time: 05:08:28 -0500
Remote Name: 90.231.254.247
Hi JD. Thanks for dropping by. I have a paper every year to get the important word out to be proud of who you are, stuttering or not. Because I've been through hell and back and hope for others to skip that stage and wind up where I am today: on top of the world! :-) What I would like from SLPs is to not only focus on the mechanical part of stuttering, but also on the mental part. Many of us are experts on hiding, thinking negative about ourselves and the world around us and afraid to make a change, as stuttering, no matter how much of a problem it is, it's something we have been doing for years and it's become a part of our lives. So you need to be a psychologist as well (knowledge of NLP is a great help). Also don't be afraid to use the stuttering community and ask for advice and visit them. They are a gold mine with knowledge. We don't want to take over your job (as many SLPs still think...), but we can help your clients to keep us the training during sessions and practice it in real life. And don't hesitate to subscribe additional help, such as relaxation, Mindfulness, NLP, massage, psychologist etc etc. Be open for new things, even if you haven't tested it yourself. But maybe the most important thing: ask your client. He/she knows his/her stuttering. Be open to suggestions. Think outside the books. Every person who stutters is different. And your last question on challenges? I still can get annoyed by the fact that stuttering is unstable. Everytime I think it's getting better, I can get a "bad" day, or a phone call where I stutter a lot. That's just so frustrating! Even a blind stuttering friend used to say he would rather continue be blind than to continue stuttering. Another challenge is to be a full time stuttering ambassador. :-) So, any sponsors out there? :-) Thanks for your important questions and I hope I have inspired you to work with people who stutter. We need you! Happy ISAD! Anita What challenges, if any, do you continue to experience? Thank you.