[ Contents | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Bob Quesal
Date: 10/7/02
Time: 8:56:55 AM
Remote Name: 143.43.201.67
Well, I wouldn't call my stuttering a "habit."
;-)>
I honestly don't know how it affects my clients, but I imagine it affects different clients in different ways.
One thing I do know - when clients come to me (particularly college-age and above) and I start talking about avoidance and how stuttering can screw up your life, and start talking about all the "tricks" and the work you go through trying to not stutter, their eyes frequently light up and they often tell me that they didn't think anyone would understand that stuff. So when it comes to the covert stuff, I may have an advantage over someone who does not stutter.
I point out to clients that I am not them and they are not me, so we are going to deal with THEIR speech, not mine. I'm willing to share insights, but I am not "all stutterers" nor do I pretend to be. Often when I go out with clients to pseudostutter, my fake stutters turn into "real" ones and I can demonstrate how to modify behavior. It works pretty well. ;-)>
I hope my stuttering does not hold my clients back in any way. I like to think that some of the "under the surface" aspects can be addressed more quickly in treatment, because they know I am not just making it up when I say "I understand what you are going through."
I hope this helps.
Bob Q.