[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Brian Humphrey
Date: 10 Oct 2005
Time: 20:25:20 -0500
Remote Name: 71.57.148.38
Hello, Darlene, If someone were to inform me that a client of mine was stuttering with only one “authority figure” outside of the clinic, before deciding “what to do” I would want to define the problem as clearly as possible. Time and effort spent in understanding a problem helps me to develop effective solutions. It often helps me to involve clients and/or families in problem-solving; it helps them to understand their own situations better, and it is an opportunity for them to practice some self-help skills. Here are some of the kinds of questions that could arise: What is the evidence that the person who stutters (pws) is only dysfluent when communicating with one particular person? Is that really the case? Who told me and how reliable is the information? Have I observed this directly? How does the pws see the problem? How does the “problem communication partner” see the problem? Do their perspectives agree with mine? Are interactions with a “problem communication partner” somehow different from interactions with other communication partners? What are the communication demands? What are the fluency and reactions of the pws really like in the problem situation? Is there a way to observe the problem -- a clinic visit by the “problem communication partner”, a field visit by the clinician, or a recording, or perhaps observing a telephone conversation”? Is the pws ready to provide information by making observations or ratings about an “outside situation”? After defining the problem well, my next step would be to generate some alternative solutions to chose from, and then decide “what to do”.