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From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 19 Oct 2005
Time: 22:00:12 -0500
Remote Name: 69.22.238.4
Amy, thanks for your kind words. You ask, “how do you know if this approach is right for someone? How do you know when a person is ready and when they’re not?” In my opinion it is not so easy to define “ready.” For example, when working with an adult you may find that he feels he is not ready to try voluntary stuttering because of years of accumulated shame. Yet, you may feel that he is ready precisely because of his shame and fears of speaking. A client may find using other speech tools such as pull-outs to be a waste of time because she can never remember to use them in public. This client may benefit from using voluntary stuttering as a means of practicing pull-outs in public. While the client may be against such a task, you may feel the time is right for her to try it. The best that we can do is listen to our clients, attempt to understand their specific stuttering problem, and suggest strategies such as voluntary stuttering when we feel it is appropriate to meet their specific needs.