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From: Alan Badmington (to Katie)
Date: 19 Oct 2006
Time: 16:55:05 -0500
Remote Name: 84.65.104.102
Hi Katie, Thank you for reading my article and contributing to the threaded discussion. Your generous comments are most appreciated. As a student SLP, I feel it useful that you will be able to draw upon your contact with your brother who stutters. I suspect that this may have influenced the path you have chosen. However, I am sure you will be well aware that every PWS is different. I fully understand why he may use technology as a crutch – I did it for so many years. Is your brother conversant with the implications of avoidance? You/he may be interested to read my poem, ‘Changing the Words Around’, that I wrote for the 2005 ISAD Online Conference. Simply click on the following link: http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad7/papers/badmington7/badmington17.html What made me decide to abandon the Edinburgh Masker? Several other persons have already posed that same question. Rather than repeat the lengthy explanation, may I respectfully suggest that you read my earlier responses to Maria Palmieri and Walt Manning. Simply click on ‘Contents’ above and then click (separately) on my comments that are contained in the posts immediately following their names. You will note that it was an instant decision, influenced by the fact that I joined a specific speech programme. For the first time in my life, I gained an understanding of the implications of avoidance (and so much more about stuttering). You also enquired about the success of any speech therapy that I may have received in my life. My involvement with speech pathologists (or, speech therapists, as we call them in the UK), has been extremely limited. I saw a therapist when I was about 8 years of age but, it occurred so long ago, that I cannot recall what took place. ;-) I resumed further therapy at about the age of 12/13, but it was totally ineffective, due to the infrequency of my visits and the brief time that I spent in her company. I recall that I was required to read aloud in the therapy room. (Again, it was many years ago). I experimented with unorthodox therapy in the 1970’s and gained a reasonable degree of fluency over a period of two weeks, in a controlled environment. However, I quickly lost those gains when I returned to the real world. The Programme that I joined in May 2000 dealt holistically with the problem, and gave me techniques/tools to deal with blocking and feared words etc. It also provided me with access to a support network 24/7. I have not looked back since. In order to deal with stuttering, I believe it is important to appreciate that it is not just about the mechanics of speech. There is so much more involved. I used a technique (and tools) to challenge my self-limiting beliefs. I purposely went out of my way to do the things that I had previously avoided. I expanded my comfort zones and faced my fears. I used the technique/tools as a means to an end. I dismantled the psychological framework that had supported my stutter for more than half a century. Had I confined myself to a safe lifestyle, then I would have not eliminated my stuttering mindset, because I would still have retained my fears in the more challenging situations. Our thoughts and behaviours are shaped by our beliefs and self-image. When dealing with your future clients, you may wish to consider suggesting that they deal with such issues as self-esteem, assertiveness, self-confidence, negative thinking, approach avoidance etc. Emotional baggage cannot be ignored. I wish you every success with your studies. Kindest regards Alan