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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 10/10/03
Time: 4:54:22 PM
Remote Name: 12.237.88.139
Hi Katie - again <smile>
It's so nice to see your name on so many papers with comments and questions. We appreciate your involvement with this conference!
Is there anything you as an SLP can do...? I guess the best analogy I can suggest is that you are intelligent cheerleaders. Intelligent in that you know the size and scope of the problem and have many tools in your tool bag which MAY help. And you're intelligent enough on the subject of stuttering to be a teacher to your clients.
And you're a cheerleader because you encourage your clients to (using the US Army terminology) "be all that you can be!" You listen, prod, celebrate successes, suggest, push, encourage, care, and a host of other activities which tend to guide your clients toward ways of life which will make their lives better.
The ultimate choice, however, rests with the client. If he/she has courage and grit, you both will enjoy success and the client will profit greatly from your work. At the other end of the spectrum if your client has the old "fix me" attitude, there's not much you can do. Without his or her active involvement, you're probably doomed before you start. As you go through your career I'm sure you'll see many clients all along the points of this spectrum.
One thing you are NOT, of course, is a surgeon. You simply can't put a client to sleep, cut him open and fix the problem. We wish it would be that simple. (And I know that you know this, of course. I put that comment in there for the benefit of anyone else without your experience who may be reading this.)
I'd really like the rest of my colleagues on this paper to comment on your question. It's certainly a good one.
Good luck, Katie! I hope our paths cross sometime!
Russ