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From: Sophie
Date: 10/16/02
Time: 9:02:11 PM
Remote Name: 165.247.39.212
Amber,
Thank you for reading our article and for your kind words.
First, let me say that in no way was our article supposed to discourage people from becoming speech-language pathologists. As we tried to note at the end of the article, speech pathology has come a long way since I was a child, so my experiences would most likely have been better if I had been born ten or twenty years later. Also, the first therapist I went to probably had not had any training in stuttering, which is not true of participants in this conference. And, with regard to the second therapist, I stopped seeing her because I found that just the act of seeing someone for my speech made me focus constantly on how I sounded, which seemed to me to make my speech worse. Had I voiced this concern to her, she may have been able to modify her approach in a way that I would have found more beneficial. So, in that respect, I probably didn't give the second therapist enough of a chance.
Now, I'll attempt to answer your questions:
1. While your parents provided insight and helpful counseling to your childhood and your therapist may have been inadequate, do you feel that perhaps you should have taken control and stood up for yourself?
Yes, I think stutterers should say if they think a certain course of treatment is not helping. It's important that stutterers share their views on what they think will or will not help them and also how they feel about their progress. At the same time, I think the speech pathologist should provide opportunities for and be receptive to such feedback.
I also believe that this is incredibly difficult for both parties to do. It is hard for the stutterer to admit that they're not succeeding at the suggested course of treatment. It is also hard for the speech pathologist to hear that something isn't working. Therefore, I think it is important that both parties go into therapy with the understanding that there will be some trial and error and that neither party is to feel badly if a particular course of treatment isn't as successful as they had initially hoped.
I also believe it's better if the goal of the therapy is not fluency. The goal should be something that's more attainable (and realistic), such as being able to communicate effectively.
2. Have you considered having any further therapy?
On several occasions, I have thought about giving therapy another try. To be honest, I probably didn't pursue therapy on those occasions because of those two prior experiences. It's only recently that I've learned about the strides speech pathology has taken since I last tried therapy. Had I known this earlier, I may well have sought professional help again. At the moment, I think I need to work with myself to come to terms with and accept my speech. But, there very well might come a time when I decide to give therapy another try.
I hope this answers your questions. Please understand that these are only my thoughts – other stutterers may answer these questions differently.
Best wishes for your graduate work, and please don't be discouraged. We need people like you.
Thank you again, Sophie