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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 08 Oct 2006
Time: 21:28:05 -0500
Remote Name: 71.252.204.114
Hi Michelle, ..... Thanks for your kind words. ..... In answer to you questions, first, young stutterers. YES, definitely! By working with an SLP who specializes in stuttering therapy (the Gold Standard list for these people is http://www.stutteringspecialists.org/ very young children who are developing stuttering can be treated VERY successfully by good, qualified therapists. That's the ONLY way to go! ..... Second, stutterers who have trouble accepting their stuttering. Ah yes... a vastly different audience. Have them visit (and you too!) the National Stuttering Association's website at http://www.WeStutter.org and you'll find an amazing amount of information on stuttering there. If possible have them join a local chapter of the NSA. The NSA's motto is "If you stutter, you're not alone." Having someone to talk with who also stutters is critically important. ..... And the best of all possible worlds is to have then attend an NSA national conference. (Again, you too!) The conference next summer is in Atlanta and we're gonna have a BLAST! To be with 500 other people who stutter is a life changing experience. Go to the NSA's website and click on Annual Conference. It's an amazing experience! ..... Finally your question of why did fluency shaping fail for me? It failed because it was incomplete. It was in the 1950's and people back then had no concept of the stuttering iceberg and the unbelievable impact that psychology and emotions can have on your speech. (See my paper on the stuttering iceberg at http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad6/papers/hicks6.html .) It just never OCCURRED to anyone back then that you couldn't cure stuttering by focusing solely on the speech mechanics. I certainly don't blame them - they simply didn't know. It failed for me - and countless others - because I absolutely could NOT keep up the constant practice and work and effort to sustain my fluency. Even today, I can use those techniques but they only work for a short time. It's like holding a ten pound weight at arm's length. Sure you can do it for a minute or two, but for a lifetime? No way! Without the knowledge of the stuttering iceberg, and concentrating only on fluency, failure is almost a certainty. ..... I wish you the very best, Michelle. Enjoy the rest of the papers in this wonderful conference. ..... Russ