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From: Art Struss
Date: 19 Oct 2011
Time: 22:26:08 -0500
Remote Name: 205.188.116.78
Thanks so much for presenting this paper. I found the questions and comments interesting and thought provoking. The way I describe costal breathing after participating in the McGuire Program is taking a breath by expanding my rib cage. When I took the course, I was instructed to put a belt around my chest, so that I could feel the slight pressure that resulted from expanding my ribs. I would then start speaking at the top of the inhalation. It was also important to release residual air at the end of the phrase before taking another breath. Costal breathing has improved my speech fluency, and it works for me a lot better than trying to squeeze words out using hardly any air. The McGuire Program is also holistic, since it also addresses some of the psychological issues of stuttering such as beliefs, intentions, behaviors, emotions, physical state and perceptions as explained with the Harrison Stuttering Hexagon. I also found the discussion of self actualization described in Dave McGuire’s book important – being the person that I really am instead of being a “yes” person so that I would be liked or loved. Saying one thing and feeling emotionally different produced anxiety that contributed to my stuttering. Then there is the whole issue of what I’m getting out of stuttering. It can be an easy excuse for failure to get the job or for not being accepted by people. No matter what speech modification you use, it takes time and effort to put the changes into practice, and that’s the challenge. People can feel free to give me a call if they’d like to share their thoughts (847-367-9251). Thanks again for presenting the paper and to all the people that posted comments.