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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 17 Oct 2006
Time: 14:28:23 -0500
Remote Name: 71.123.208.188
Hi Michelle, ..... Thanks for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. ..... And BINGO! You hit the nail right on the head! Your job as an SLP is not teaching your clients to hold your tongue like this or breathe like this (though those may be small parts of it), but to encourage your clients to realize that they are SOOO MUCH MORE than their stuttering! People who stutter, adults especially, can think of stuttering as THE part of their life that totally defines them. Wrong! And it's your job to convince them that they can live successful lives and still stutter. Oh sure, stuttering may be a nuisance in their lives, but it does NOT have to define them. Stuttering is what we DO, it's not who we ARE. ..... Stuttering therapy is not an easy profession. No doubt about it. But the rewards can be enormous when you realize the power you have to affect lives. As a future SLP, you'll have more opportunities to affect other people's lives than you can possibly imagine. The bad news is that you probably won't even hear about 99% of them. But the good news is that the 1% that you DO hear back from will make everything you do all worthwhile! ..... I wish you the best, Michelle. Please feel free to email me if I can help you further. ..... Russ