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From: Walt Manning
Date: 10/12/03
Time: 12:39:14 PM
Remote Name: 141.225.97.53
Hello Drew- Altghough the change process and therapy can be hard,overall it is exciting and fun. If it's not fun we should be doing something else. When coaching soccer, for example, I always thought it was important for the kids to have fun. Not all the time for we did need to drill, get in shape, run hard when we didn't feel like it, etc. But the game is beautiful and we should be able to appreciate what we were doing. On the other hand, I wouldn't the pressure of trying to be funny or keeping the kids laughing all the time. As you suggested, too much of anything (fun, laughter) can result in losing a sense of direction in treatment. I am most comfortable when laughter & humor are a by product of the working or therapeutic alliance. We have things we need to attend to and work on in (and out) of the treatment session and if some of our shared experiences are funny, so much the better- expecially when they indicate a changing perspective about the problem or the self. I'm not at all sure about how to "use" humor to help children who are unaware of their stuttering. That shoulds tricky. I might be more apt to use art or drawing or role playing in that regard. I really think that many children are aware at some level, just not at the point that they are likely to give you a long paragraph about what they may think about their ability to communicate. Once they are aware some humorous aspects are likely to appear and we can recognize, and maybe react with a look, a pause, or a smile...or something short of laughter. I hope I have been of some help here. This is probably something a that is easier to demonstrate (once you become calibrated to a child) than to talk about.