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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 09 Oct 2006
Time: 10:18:56 -0500
Remote Name: 157.182.15.42
Hi Charlie, Thanks for your perspective. Of course, I agree with you. Acronyms for the sake of convenience are probably not so bad, but what really is gained? "PWS" and "stutterer" both have three syllables. I suppose "PWS" is easier to type than "stutterer," especially if one does not capitalize "pws" and uses such forms as "u" for "you." But I can't see it communicating senstivity to individual people who are suffering. If expedience were indeed the goal, shortening "stutterer" to "stut" might work, but I suspect it would not be well received. Yet, as you indicate, "PWS" is an acronym for ANOTHER politically correct term. This second order "anacronyzation" (to coin a word myself) could irritate like the blackboard scratching analogy. I agree that we should spend our efforts on being better clinicians by what we do and how we interact rather than worrying about what terms we are using. Regards, Ken