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From: Harish Usgaonker
Date: 06 Oct 2011
Time: 06:47:12 -0500
Remote Name: 117.204.131.158
Dear Emily Thanks! I did have a few attempts with speech therapy during my childhood. The results were great initially, but there was always a relapse. And that caused a kind of guilt and frustration. And there was a time when I had a bad opinion about speech therapy. Now, I believe it was not fair on my part to judge speech therapy based on only the therapies which I followed. May be I didn't come across good speech therapy. Read my blog on my experiences with speech therapies / any therapies here : http://t-tisa.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-quest-for-fluency.html Any speech therapy, which has a holistic approach- Speech techniques along with the change in attitude and related psychological issues like fear / guilt / shame etc. Stammering is often given the analogy of the ice-berg. What you see is just the tip. The actual thing is much bigger and hidden below the waters. Sadly, the therapies I came across tried to deal with only the tip of the iceberg that they could see. Any therapy that deals to cater to the unseen (psychological) issues is a good therapy, and I dont see any reason PWS not being benefitted by it. Secondly, you mentioned about the group I found online. Yes, initially I didnt enjoy. Because I was in a different state of mind, and my perception towards stammering was that of hatred, anger and something which I never liked. But this 60-minuite interview changed my perception, and now, I am the part of this same group (The Indian Stammering Association). I co-ordinate SHGs with this same group, and I would say, this group has done to me what the speech therapies couldn't. A holistic approach towards stammering. My advice to yournger students- Go to a speech therapy, who specialize in Fluency Disorders, and take up therapies which focus on the change of attitudes. With therapies you will have tools and techniques in your kitty to deal with your stutter. At the same time, also attend self-help-group meetings, and talk about your stutter with other stutters. Help others with their stutter and in the process help yourself. Practice of techniques in the closed rooms is not enough. Going out of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves is what is going to help in the long run. I will be happy if speech therapists recommend / encourage their patients to go to self-help groups.