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From: Nora O'Connor
Date: 10/15/02
Time: 4:31:22 PM
Remote Name: 208.32.238.2
Thank you so much for your comments and questions Elsbeth. I hope you have benefited from the ISAD online conference and have encouraged your colleagues to participate as well. Before I respond I want to direct you to a response I gave previously in the threaded discussion (subject: The root of stuttering). This touches on some of your comments and question.
I believe in a holistic approach to treating adolescents and adults who stutter. I feel there are too many PWS who spend many hours (and $$$) engaging in intensive therapy programs, as well as individual speech therapy and often they receive minimal long term success and then beat themselves up for not having noticeable improvement with their speech. In my opinion, in order for speech therapy to be successful it needs to address the others issues I raised in my self-image paper and until that is done then adult PWS will continue to seek out therapy program after therapy program trying desperately to find the answer or the cure. When actually the answer is far from just only learning speech therapy techniques – learning stuttering modification or fluency shaping techniques is only a part of the solution.
The Successful Stuttering Management Program at Eastern Washington University and at the University of Utah does an excellent job of delivering a more holistic approach to treating stuttering.
To answer your question it was only when I dealt with self-image issues that my ability to handle my stuttering improved. It could not have worked the other way. I’m not saying my stuttering improved dramatically, but I had more of a chance to apply therapy techniques and feel better about my stutter after I addressed the self-image issues. No amount of speech therapy was going to have long term success until I dealt with all the underlying issues related to my stuttering.
Please feel free to ask other questions as well. Thanks for participating in the ISAD online conference! I appreciate your desire to learn more about stuttering and the person who stutters.
Please use the National Stuttering Association, FRIENDS – The Association of Young People Who Stutter and the Stuttering Foundation of America as resources when treating clients who stutter. Encourage your stuttering clients (and their family members) to attend the NSA conference in Nashville, TN in June 2003 and the FRIENDS conference in New York City in July or August 2003. You are welcomed to and encouraged to attend as well! As well as local NSA chapter meetings ... http://www.nsastutter.org