Humor as a Variable in the Process of Change

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Re: Article 33

From: Walt
Date: 10/16/03
Time: 9:49:43 AM
Remote Name: 141.225.97.53

Comments

Tara- It's difficult to respond to your question without knowing the people involved. I'm not always sure about how to respond to questions about 'what to do when my child stutters' without knowing the players. I no longer try to respond to questions in my workshops when people ask something along the lines of "I have a fifth grade student who stutters, etc. etc. and what should I do next in therapy?" When I was new at this I would feel role bound to answer (they have aske me to come and speak, possibly paid me to do it, gave me lunch, etc.) so I had to say something. Now I say "I don't know." which sounds considerably less impressive. But I'm always hoping they will still provide a nice lunch! I say I don't know for the same reason I'm not sure how to answer your question with any specificity. Once I get calibrated to the parent(s) and the child - how clever is he, how tough, and persistent, how motivated, etc. I think I can gradually begin to experiment with ways to respond, some of which may be humorous. One key, I think, is responding naturally and in an unafraid, open, curious manner. It's not likely that you do the wrong thing unless you are terribly insensitive. I say that to classroom teachers a lot aslo for being terribly inhibited about doing something wrong sends a powerful message. As long as you aren't equating fluency with GOOD and stuttering with BAD I think you can be free and spontanious in your responses. Don't worry about somehow making mistakes because you are not likely to do that. I hope at least some of my response provides a decent answer to your question.


Last changed: September 12, 2005