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From: J Scott Yaruss, Univ of Pittsburgh
Date: 02 Oct 2011
Time: 18:01:40 -0500
Remote Name: 72.194.64.133
Hi Keith - Thanks for your post and the thoughtful questions you've raised. I'll offer my input here and look forward to notes from others on the panel: 1. In your combined experiences does the smaller number of newly qualified SLTs/ SLPs specialising in stuttering meet the demand of PWS wanting help? From what I hear around the world the answer is no in many if not all countries. >>> That's an easy one for me to answer. No. Simply, no. We need more people who are not only specialized in stuttering, but even just adequately prepared to begin to help people who stutter. (Specialization is actually a lot to ask when so many of our clinicians are graduating with minimal experience and comfort with stuttering to begin with...) 2. How can we help those who qualify to achieve their maximum potential? >>>>Oh, that's a harder one. We need to give people the opportunity to interact with people who stutter! I think in the US, the self-help groups such as the NSA and Friends have been doing an excellent job of outreach, and of course the SFA has wonderful materials targeting education of clinicians. But, there are so many pressures on the training programs and on the students...it's hard to teach them everything they need to know. So, while I absolutely acknowledge the need, I'm at a bit of a loss about how to overcome it. One thing that does help is having adequate continuing education opportunities available - and having the clinicians get the time and funding they need to attend them. I have given many workshops on stuttering treatment, but in recent years, it's gotten harder to do because the clinicians in the schools in the US don't get the time or support in order to go take them. They can benefit from training, but they have to do it on their own time and their own dollar, and they're already spending quite a bit of their own time and money just to do their daily jobs. So, it's a problem... the solutions involve increasing support for schools and teachers and clinicians, but this is not the mood of at least our country right now. 3. How can we increase the numbers qualifying? (see #2 ;-) Too many demands on the training programs and students. 4. How can we reach countries where little or no professional help exists? >>> Well, many of the outreach programs of the Stuttering Foundation, the ISAD concept and conference, the IFA/ICA/Oxford conferences make a difference. Some of those tend to attract specialists, of course, and they tend to attract those who can travel, which is understandable. Increasing outreach to under-served countries will again require funding and support. I don't think you'll find a shortage of specialists eager to do the training - there are many of us who would be thrilled to be involved in this type of program...I know I would...but the logistics of making it happen, including finding available time and funding, make it much tougher. Man, that was a depressing set of responses, wasn't it?!? I don't think it's all hopeless, not by a long shot...but I do think that it will require a concerted effort to make changes in some of these issues... Fortunately, we have a wonderful set of colleagues around the world - dedicated clinicians and researchers and support organizations - that I believe are up to the task in many ways. We just need more of us, and more time to tackle the issue. Thanks again for the excellent questions. I'm looking forward to the dialogue! S