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From: William Rosenthal
Date: 17 Oct 2006
Time: 00:47:12 -0500
Remote Name: 67.180.57.9
Hi there Julie. The situation that you are describing is not easy. TA may help you understand what is going on with the parents and the child, but it will not necessarily lead to a solution. The parents need to be responsive and willing to consider changing their behavior. I think that they may need some critical information. They need to understand and accept the principle that when their child stutters, it is not an option that is under his control. Punishing that does not make sense, in the same way that punishing someone for breathing does not make sense. They may need something positive to do, like praising the kid for fluency, and doing whatever controls that you are teaching him. Try emphasizing a change in their behavior, rather than a change in attitude or beliefs. From a TA perspective, it is much better to approach these parents as allies rather than as adversaries. Still, if you do your best and you are not able to bring them around, you need to let go and move on. We all need to learn that we can't win them all. Good luck and thanks for talking about this interesting case. -WSR