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From: Judy
Date: 11 Oct 2012
Time: 07:05:53 -0500
Remote Name: 173.76.249.43
Hi Amanda, I can't really say for sure, but here are some ideas to think about…First of all, wanting to buy things may be much more of a distraction the younger the child is. Our store visits are about deliberate attempts at speech change using SLP feedback that acknowledges what she perceives to be greater fluency, use or non-use of strategies, requests for personal accountability, and some gradually increasing expectations. I would think that taking this kind of speech therapy on the road has prerequisites. All the groundwork must have been done first : desensitization to stuttering, ability to talk about one's own behaviors, a basic understanding if the fluctuations of stuttering, and faith in the process. We do not go to the store to practice hiding stuttering by expecting fluency. We go to experiment, explore, discover, and talk about what it's like to make speech changes in a real world setting. . I am not trained in the Lidcombe Program so I cannot speak to that aspect of her presentation, but I like Rosemary Hayhow’s 2010 ISAD article “Parents and Children Who Stutter: The pleasures and pains of working together” with regard to talking about speech. I also like Peter Reitzes 2010 ISAD article “The Fluency Challenge (It’s Not What You May Think.) I have a couple of blog posts that address talking about stuttering in May 2011. I think the child has to have a sense of resiliency and adventure. He has to have experienced lots of success in the therapy room so that he knows with absolute certainty that he will rediscover speech change given conditions the SLP will set up for him. The SLP has to know that the child is not going to fall to pieces in a public setting upon discovering that speech strategies can be much more difficult to use at the store. The SLP has to know how to respond in a way that builds confidence and locus of control within the child.As SLPs, we know something about child development, learning styles, teaching techniques and the unique challenges of a communication disability. The SLP is going to observe alot of fluency breakdown. So, I suppose it might be possible given the specific strengths of the child that store carryover might be helpful with an elementary school age child. By the way, you are actually working on much more than speech change !! But that will be your own personal & professional journey and I wish you many revelations !!