[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 04 Oct 2006
Time: 08:49:22 -0500
Remote Name: 134.29.31.173
Stephanie, thanks for writing. Students will respond in various ways to positive language. Some students have asked, “How can stuttering be good?” That is fairly common response and I may respond back, “Because you are good and you also stutter.” Other students will “get it” and appreciate hearing their stuttered speech referred to as being “good” instead of “bad.” My friend Phil Schneider often talks about the concept of “planting seeds” in the therapy process. Using positive language is a good way to plant seeds. After hearing positive language on a regular basis I know that some of my students begin using it and even nicely correct one another by saying things such as, “Hey, that wasn’t a bad stutter, that was a good stutter.” Using positive language is also a great conversational starter when working with a group. If students disagree on using positive language it often makes for a lively and open conversation about stuttering.