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From: Marjorie Rosenthal Foer
Date: 10/19/02
Time: 9:22:53 AM
Remote Name: 140.186.33.216
Hi There Alana,
Great questions!! I do have a working theory going regarding these questions (and the approaches I take are only working theory approaches based on the immediate needs of the client...in other words I try to analyze my clients needs as we go and base my intervention on that immediate need). So, to answer your question: I am currently theorizing that with young children who display no signs of struggle with developmental repetitions and revisions that they likely do not have FEELINGS, BELIEFS, PERCEPTIONS, PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OR trouble litening to their INTUITION associated with the experience. Therefore this is not stuttering; the Stuttering System is NOT in place.
When prolongations emerge, there is tension involved, and therefore a FEELING associated with the tension. This prolongation probably emerged at the conscious level as a way of "fixing" a repetition or revision, secondary to a PERCEPTION that others are showing concern about their speech. The emotional energy that connects the conscious mind to the unconscious mind (the body) sends the emotional message of "Yikes something's broken" (fear) with associated tension. The conscious mind might decide that prolongation is a good way to fix the broken speech, and so the body responds by prolonging. When the conscious mind tells the body what to do using emotional energy, the body responds using some level of tension. This "deliberate" consciious speech is the unnatural speech that I mentioned in my paper. You can probably see how the cycle of stuttering evolves from there with the same kind of sycle that I detail in the next scenario.
With later onset stuttering, I have a different theory based on personal experience. When I was living in Israel, I learned to speak Hebrew fluently. My confidence in myself, however, was less fluent. I'm not just referring to my confidence in my use of the language, I am talking about my self-confidence in life's various situations. I was very concerned with how others PERCEIVED me. At times I was very NERVOUS about these PERCEPTIONS, I had an INTENTION to deliver perfectly spoken Hebrew. I BELIEVED I would have difficulty being a perfect speaker in those "HIGH PERCEPTION" situations. So, my PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE of increased tension (created by my EMOTIONAL ENERGY) resulted in Stuttering BEHAVIORS of repetitions, prolongations and blocks. Too bad I couldn't listen to my INTUITION at that time. It would have told me "I can speak Hebrew fluently, so just relax and go for it, forget the PERCEPTIONS of others and change your BELIEFS that you may mess up, that's forcing your to put the focus on your speech, forcing a message to fix it, and be unnatural...."
When the cycle of stuttering reaches a level of BELIEF that solidifies the System, it is a self-perpetuating System that needs to be "broken"into with a "different level of consciousness than the one it was created with".
all the best,
Marjorie