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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 22 Oct 2006
Time: 12:27:53 -0500
Remote Name: 71.123.208.188
Hey Pam, ..... What are you doing as a student? You should be TEACHING the class! <smile> ..... You've gone directly to the heart of what an SLP - especially one working with stutterers - should really be doing. Fluency is really not the most important issue. It's doing what you need to do to help your clients lead successful lives. If increased fluency helps (and it certainly may, especially in the case of very severe stutterers), that's fine. If accepting your stuttering so that you can concentrate on LIVING is important, that's what you need to help your client with. Every client is different. That's what makes your job so challenging. ..... I want you to read two other papers that reinforce your thoughts along this line. The first one is my paper on the Iceberg Analogy of Stuttering at http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad6/papers/hicks6.html You may have already read that one. The second one is my paper on the Iceberg MATRIX of Stuttering at http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad8/papers/hicks8/hicks8.html which uses the iceberg analogy to suggest treatment for different forms of stuttering. And that paper will show you why an INTEGRATED approach individualized for each client is the ideal way for treatment. Sometimes it's fluency, sometimes it's acceptance, sometimes it may be something else entirely. ..... I wish you the very best Pam. You have the insight for what it takes to become an EXCELLENT SLP. I hope our paths cross some day. Please keep in touch! ..... Russ, my email is russhicks@mail.com