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From: Voon Pang, SLT, New Zealand
Date: 13 Oct 2011
Time: 04:30:43 -0500
Remote Name: 202.89.151.81
Firstly, great paper Peter and Bob. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't had time to listen to the StutterTalk podcast series yet but if this is a taster then I'm in for a treat! I really like your point Bob about how if we 'start thinking about it, things get screwed up'. I have teens who stutter who sometimes report this when then over think 'not stuttering' and more stuttering pops up... On a side note, it also reminds me of the Snoopy comics, 'Peanuts', where Lucy thinks about her tongue too much and starts noticing how it just feels weird... But back to the costal breathing and breathing as a therapy tool - I am seeing a 12 year old boy who is talking on the inhalation and blocking with secondaries (hard to imagine!). He also has a range of of concomitant speech/language issues with a severe Child Apraxia of Speech and a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified - so lots going on.... I have a feeling that for years adults around him began to try and help him by saying 'take a deep breath' before talking etc. It probably hasn't helped that his past SLTs, with very good intentions may have taken a fluency shaping approach and began with breathing 'technique' which I think has resulted in this child not liking how easy onsets sounded and rushing through with secondaries (coughing and speaking or avoidance with talking quickly and/or in an accent). As a result, there seems to be that tendency to rush on the inhalation and talk at the same timenow... Very interesting and complex case and I'm working very hard to undo this through education, desensitisation, voluntary stuttering (he will not attempt and fluency shaping) and looking at how we talk (which would include breathing), though with the other speech and language issues these are challenges themselves. I suppose it shows costal breathing doesn't work for everyone and given the right amount factors thrown in (whether it be child factors, speech/language factors or factors related to therapists not teaching a tool properly...), it can be detrimental. Hope this is something that everyone can learn from! Thanks again Peter and Bob for giving us a 101 on the anatomy and physiology of costal breathing :) Cheers, Voon