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From: Lisa LaSalle
Date: 21 Oct 2011
Time: 12:56:03 -0500
Remote Name: 206.208.133.42
I too appreciate the other answers here to an intriguing question. I think the answer lies in augmentations and more than one "track" to the treatment initiatives. For some individuals who stutter, it is true that age-old "techniques have proven to be effective," as you say, and I would add that the techniques need to be satisfying or accepting to the person who stutters him or herself. Walt added the importance of the developments in the field of psychology, and I would underscore how important that side of the equation seems to be for treatment outcomes and initiatives. I was struck by King's Speech producer David Seidler's comments at the NSA Friends conference. Seidler said that for him, a period of teenage rebellion and other history of Tx (some good, some not so good), and acceptance basically, is what brought about more fluent speech for him. Then again, there are cases of individuals who do spontaneously recover in their teenage years, and they don't really credit any one reason. The individuals who stutter on Phil Schneider's Transcending Stuttering DVD series also brings out this need for self-acceptance before any real treatment can come about. It seems the "medically oriented research (e.g., genetics and medication)" is also a really important track of, as you say, new Tx initiatives. I heard Gerry Maguire speak on this topic a couple weeks ago. He stutters, he is an MD psychiatrist, and he has research funding to study medications and stuttering. Yet he credited both the stuttering modification therapy he had as a kid, *plus* the medication he is currently on (asenapine) for being able to keep his lecture within its allotted time limits. (He commented on the time limit part, jokingly, of course). So it seems to me that the new treatment initiatives need not throw out the need for treatment efficacy research on the old treatments, as they are also effective for many, and can serve as good augmentations for newer Tx and Rx.