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From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 20 Oct 2006
Time: 11:26:04 -0500
Remote Name: 165.155.160.137
Paul, wow do you bring up some great stuff. You ask if by using positive language we accidentally or “inadvertently” emphasize negative language. You go on to suggest that by using positive language the clinician is purposively avoiding negative language. I am not sure that is such a bad thing. What I certainly do is honor feelings. If a client or a friend who stutters talks about “terrible stuttering,” I do not jump up on a high horse to “correct” him or her. However, I still use positive and descriptive language to describe or reframe stuttering because I do not like how it feels when I use negative language. In response to your second question, yes, I also feel that descriptive language is positive. Sometimes, neutral IS positive. In response to your third question, I would love to see your survey – it sounds fascinating. Is it or will it be published? I really like the idea of “I am a person who has a stutter.” As I mentioned in a previous post here, many parents will not use the terms “stutterer” or “person who stutters” and most often just say, “My child has a stutter” or “I think my child may have a stutter.” Your last point is interesting, and may be appropriate for many people who stutter and their families. But for other stutterers, like myself, it is just not enough. As a former covert stutterer, stuttering ruled every aspect of my life even though I produced few overt stutters. In my own journey with stuttering, I needed to come out and identify as a stutterer (and as a person who stutters). I do not feel that “I have a stutter” would have been enough for me in terms of fully coming to accept the enormity of my stuttering problem. Thanks for writing.