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From: Janis Ingham
Date: 10/17/02
Time: 2:01:18 PM
Remote Name: 128.111.217.139
Dear Amber - You've asked the BIG QUESTION, the one about the clinical applicability of our findings, and it is indeed an important question. We provided the best response we could to that in the "Clinical Applications" section of our paper, but we can appreciate how you might find that less than satisfying. At this point, the clinical connections are distant ones, but that doesn't mean that as our understanding of stuttering increases and the technology improves even further, that those connections won't be strengthened in the future. Gotta start somewhere, right?
I think it's important to point out, though, that basic (as contrasted to applied) research, aimed at teasing out the fundamental nature of stuttering, has value in and of itself, whether or not it ultimately leads to clinical application. Knowledge for knowledge's sake is a worthwhile quest. And, the more that is learned about the elemental foundations of stuttering, the greater is the chance that somewhere along the line that information will lead to other discoveries - by us or others, one or more of which may offer a clinical solution to the stuttering dilemma. Who would have dreamed that sending a man to the moon would produce Tang as a breakfast drink for millions of thirsty people! (Does anyone still drink Tang??? - but you know what I mean….) In the meantime, however, our primary goal in this research IS to discover clinical applications of value to people who stutter, and that's what we'll keep aiming for as we go forward.