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From: Walt Manning
Date: 10/20/03
Time: 11:24:47 AM
Remote Name: 141.225.97.53
Adam- Thank you for your intersting comments. It's difficult to laugh or anticipate the outcome of any new situation until you've been there awhile. Until you are in a different culture (in this case children who happen to have various communication problems; each child with their own unique personality)no one would be able to anticipate the possible responses to humor or anything else. Your point about childen with language disorders is well taken for there is some research on their inability to see paradoxical and the often subtle interpretations associated with humor. Being able to "laugh at our mistakes" is a good start. Your client who does not (cannot) discuss his stuttering lightly sounds interesting and that, as a matter of fact, is a great way to describe it. We can't force him to see it any other way than as a bad thing at this point but as he does lighten up about stuttering in general (and his stuttering in particular)he will be able to discuss in a way that's not so "heavy". We can take the lead in showing him that speech, stuttering, communication can be interesting and fun. I would play off of his view of his speech/stuttering for now and experiment with new ways of seeing speech and stuttering. I think it's easier for us to related to adults and (as least some) adolescents so yes, I suppose it's easier to think in a humorous way when working with these older clients. With child it's more about enjoying the process and having fun by making sounds, speech, communicating. If we follow the client's lead and experiment with subtle responses (pause, a slight smile, raised eyebrow, look to the side)or perhaps show that we are perfectly fine when we repeat and prolong or even block on sounds and syllables, it may open the door for them to discuss their stuttering lightly. I hope these thoughts are helpful.