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From: Ken St. Louis
Date: 23 Oct 2006
Time: 09:29:58 -0500
Remote Name: 157.182.15.42
Dear Kelly, Thanks for the post. Your conclusion is probably similar to what motivated those who advocated person-first terminology in the first place. As you know, I never accepted that at face value. As a stutterer, I thought it was all quite shallow. If someone referred to me as a "stutterer" or a "person who stutters," I would react exactly the same. I was not concerned until ASHA and other institutions began to insist that "stutterer" was not acceptable. So I did the study summarized in my paper. It--and the others I cited--have showed unambiguously that THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE between the terms. Sure, some people have their preferences, but we typically use terms that society deems to have the meanings we want to communicate. Bottom line...In spite of your opinion, "stutterer" is no more or less pejorative than "person who stutters." I doubt that this will change your mind. Please see my post to everyone about what evidence seems to communicate the strongest. Best wishes, Ken