[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 19 Oct 2006
Time: 11:21:03 -0500
Remote Name: 165.155.160.145
Katie, thanks for writing. Some children and some adults who stutter and some family members will not greet positive language with open arms, but many do and some do not seem to care either way. What I have often found is that a parent or stutterer may use negative language such as “bad” or “awful” to describe stuttering because they have simply not been shown another way to describe stuttering. My experience had been that many people who describe stuttering using negative terms are in no way heavily invested in such language use, and when you show or model to them another way to talk about stuttering, they appreciate it. Even if a client does not appreciate being show positive and descriptive language, just the conversation alone on this topic is a valuable way to talk openly stuttering. To respond to your other questions, for some people who stutter it seems that the use of positive language is a clear motivating factor. For example, when you go to a self-help meeting or convention you may hear people who stutter talk about this issue and explain that positive language is a powerful motivator. In New York City, I have heard members of a local support chapter discuss these very issues.