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From: John Harrison
Date: 23 Oct 2006
Time: 11:42:34 -0500
Remote Name: 134.29.31.173
Meacham, ....YOU SAY -- How do you get the majority of "professionals" to think like you or even consider your thoughts about therapy for stuttering? Any advice for a parent of a child who stutters and wants their child to turn out like you have but at a much younger age? ....I SAY: Oboy, that's been a tough one. The people who I've had the most success in reaching are those who are not committed to their traditional point of view. I've given workshops to SLPs and CSHA and presented a paper on the total stuttering system at ASHA. Response has ranged from polite to enthusiastic. One SLP from San Diego State University actually flew up to San Francisco just to take me to dinner and talk about my ideas. Interestingly, she saw my paper as a validation of what she'd been thinking and observing for a long time. Also, San Diego State has been an island of holistic thinking about stuttering. During dinner, she actually plied me with stories about her own frustrations in dealing with SLPs who are locked into traditional thinking. She and her associates haven't had an easy time of it. But when SLPs became rewarded and reinforced for following a certain direction, it's very difficult for them to give it up. And understandably, I might add. But there HAS been slow and steady progress. I won't be around to see any major change, I'm sure, but my objective has been to broadcast these ideas and get them into circulation. And that, I'm pleased to say, has been happening. The awareness is very different from what it was in 1977 when I first joined a fledgling organization called the National Stuttering Project, the previous name of the National Stuttering Association. With regards to parents, I would encourage them to read up on stuttering as much as they can, and this website is a great place to begin. Also, the NSA has a lot of great info for parents. ...Those were good questions, Meacham.