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From: Alan Badmington
Date: 10/21/03
Time: 2:18:06 PM
Remote Name: 195.92.67.70
Hi Elizabeth,
Many thanks for your kind comments. You are correct when you say that expanding our comfort zones is essential to everyone, not just persons who stutter.
Here are a few observations on the points that you raise:
(1) Greater fluency in the therapy room does not necessarily allow greater fluency in the outside world. In order that persons who stutter may sustain the gains that they make in that safe environment, they need to face their fears (that have developed over the years) of speaking in other more challenging situations.
I needed to reverse my negative limiting beliefs (about my ability to speak in certain situations) before I felt comfortable in those environments. I did this by repeatedly doing the things I feared, until the fear level decreased (and eventually disappeared).
(2) Greater fluency is not generally accompanied by greater conversational skills. PWS have lost out on this area of communication, due to the fact that they have tended to remain on the fringes of conversation throughout their lives. Interpersonal skills cannot be acquired overnight - they are developed over a lifetime.
(3) The programme that I joined offered an holistic approach - dealing with speech techniques, desensitization self-acceptance and many other facets. I feel that I derived immense benefit from the whole package. I strongly believe that I would not be in the position I am today if I had concentrated solely on the mechanics of speech. You may wish to read my paper, 'Stuttering is not just a speech problem' at:
http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/Infostuttering/badmington.pdf (Stuttering Homepage)
http://www.stammer.demon.co.uk/conf2001_alanbadmington/ (British Stammering Association website)
(4) I think a speech-language pathologist may best help a PWS by accepting the fact that stuttering is not merely related to the mechanics of speech. The above article will throw further light on my views about this matter, while also relating my improvement to John Harrison's Stuttering Hexagon concept.
May I wish you every success with your studies.
Kindest regards
Alan
PS I apologise for the delay in responding to your post but I have been away from home, without Internet access.