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From: Ryan Pollard
Date: 11 Oct 2012
Time: 21:20:56 -0500
Remote Name: 69.116.220.90
One thing to keep in mind is that many adult PWS will not be able to leave stuttering behind, at least in the sense of no longer having the disorder. What I mean is that stuttering is a neurologically based speech disorder. Most PWS, regardless of how much control they can achieve, will always have to do something extra, something that nonstutterers don’t have to think about, if they want to present themselves as fluent speakers in everyday life. So in that sense they’ll always have the disorder, it may just become easier to manage, sometimes to the point where it doesn’t take much work at all. If a client does want to go that route (rather than the stutter-more-easily route where they’re not trying at all to be normally fluent speakers, but rather want to minimize their struggle, tension, avoidances, negative thoughts, etc.), then it’s usually best to start exploring the issues that I talk about in the paper when the client begins to experiment with their new skills and experience what it feels like to speak fluently. As far as children, I think you’re right to assume that issues of identity will likely not be as significant, as that population hasn’t had as much time for the stuttering identity to consolidate.