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From: John Tetnowski
Date: 10/7/02
Time: 10:18:24 AM
Remote Name: 130.70.137.156
Tracy,
First of all, congratulations to you for having an instructor that talks about issues such as self-esteem, and not just elimination of stuttering. Self-help groups like NSA are very important, but other groups like ToastMasters can also help. When building self-esteem for communication with PWS, I find that they must have mastery over a specific technique in order to build this self-esteem. The strategy does not have to be used all the time, and does not have to eliminate stuttering completely, but it must give the PWS a sense of confidence and self-control. How often they use the strategy, and when they use it will be up to them. As an example, Mike wants to be stutter free all the time. He says that this is a personal challenge to him. I will work with him towards that goal, because that's what he wants (and I think he is capable of this, as well). Other clients do not need completely stutter-free speech.
Thanks for your comments and question,
John Tetnowski