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From: Ryan Pollard
Date: 01 Oct 2012
Time: 20:57:58 -0500
Remote Name: 69.116.220.90
I appreciate your comments. As I’m sure you know, facing your fears around speaking can be some of the most challenging work you do during the process of change. I commend you for your success on that front! I believe that, for some PWS, the trepidation or unfamiliarity that comes with being fluent can be anxiety-provoking if they’ve not taken the time to construe what fluency means to them, as well as really take a hard look at what giving up their stuttering identity would mean. One suggestion I would offer is to make the transition a slower, more deliberate process. Rather than expecting that a client can immediately jump into a fluent lifestyle under any circumstances, he/she might set up specific, manageable situations during which they’ll use skills to effectively become (and be treated as) a fluent speaker. A ten-minute phone call with a friend, a weekend trip to the hardware store, etc. These may be times when they can sort of try on a new identity and see how it fits. Afterward, they can explore/analyze any feelings of awkwardness or ambivalence they may arise when they’re essentially not being themselves.