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From: Retz
Date: 03 Oct 2004
Time: 15:36:48 -0500
Remote Name: 206.40.121.154
Ann- Thanks for your comments. Listening is half of the communication process--yet few professionals working with the Child Who Stutters (CWS) have any training or inkling of the therapuetic effect of "listening" to/with children who stutter and the training of parents, or themselves,to utilize this necessary treatment skill to help the child. Listening is a learned behavior...And the reality is that this skill is not incorporated at the university level in the training for professionals desiring to work with CWS. To me, much depends on what the goals that parents-- and the professional they are working with-- have for the CWS. Most of us who stutter will understand the following: The ultimate stuttering behavior is when the CWS makes the conscious decision to not say what they want to say because of the fear of stuttering and/or fear of talking. Unfortunately, many professionals are unaware or routinely disregard this fact. They think the "moment of stuttering" is the whole ball of wax. Silence eliminates stuttering. Stuttering is much more than what comes out of the mouth! My professional and personal experience has revealed to me that "Therapuetic Listening" will not in any way lead to the ultimate stuttering behavior; quite the opposite. It leads to more talking....even if the CWS stutters. I have found that with CWS, when "Therapuetic Listening" is the base of therapy, the "side effects" of the therapy are the following-- an increase in talking, a decrease in communication apprehension(communication fear, or whatever one wishes to label it..) and a significant decrease in stutter like behavior.