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From: Kerri Fusco
Date: 10/4/03
Time: 2:38:00 PM
Remote Name: 68.162.5.48
Ms. Watson,
I thoroughly enjoyed your article and plan on applying what I learned with the children I am currently working with. My concern is how to apply your ideas and principles with the adolescent population; more specifically, those children who will not "admit" or "come to terms" with their stuttering. I have many students who, despite work on awareness and identification of stuttering moments, will state that "they don't really stutter" or "the only problem I have is saying /s/." They say that their difficulty producing fluent speech "doesn't really bother" them, yet they will avoid speaking in class, do not like to answer the telephone, etc. How, in your opinion, do you begin with adolescents such as these? Not only do they have difficulty with self-esteem, they do not want to acknowledge their difficulties (in other words, they do not believe they have anything to work on). In addition, when are we, as Speech-Language Pathologists, crossing the professional line and entering the realm of counseling (which I am personally not certified to do)?
Thank you again for your wonderful article. Kerri Fusco