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From: Sophie
Date: 10/8/02
Time: 7:43:16 AM
Remote Name: 165.247.31.209
Hi Molly,
Thank you for your questions and kind words.
The first SLP I went to was associated with my school and I don't think she had much, if any, familiarity with stuttering. We just talked about the words and sounds that gave me trouble. The fact that you're reading about stuttering will put you in a better position than her to help PWSs.
The second SLP I went to see seemed to know a lot about stuttering. The reason I stopped seeing her was more because of me than anything she did or didn't do. I found that just the act of going to see someone about my speech made me constantly think about how I sounded, which seemed (to me) to make my speech worse. Now, had I expressed this concern to her, would she have been able to re-focus my visits so that this wasn't the case? I'll never know, and in that respect, I'm not sure I gave her a fair chance.
So, my advice? The questions you asked in your post are excellent, and my advice would be to ask those questions to each of your clients. Every stutter is different, so while each PWS is an expert on his or her own stutter that expertise does not carry over to the next person's stutter. That's why it's important to treat each client in a way that best addresses that client's individual concerns and fears.
It's also important to ask those questions throughout the course of treatment -- not just at the beginning. A person's stutter and his or her feelings toward it tend to change over time.
You'll most likely find that the answers you get to these questions are rarely the same, and the courses of action you choose to treat each of your clients will similarly differ. Hopefully, this will make your job a lot more interesting.
One thing to keep in mind, which I would imagine is very difficult, is that if a client says to you that something isn't working, please don't take it personally. It's like doctors who try different drugs to treat an obscure illness -- some work, others don't, so they just keep trying until they get the right one. It's the same for speech therapy.
In sum, I think that if you really listen to your clients and respond accordingly, you (and your client) will get the most satisfaction out of the relationship.
These are just my thoughts. I hope they help.
Best of luck with your career as an SLP.
Sophie