Use of Helpful Counseling Techniques for Fluency Therapy


Re: Counseling in speech pathology practice

From: Ellen-Marie
Date: 10/17/00
Time: 8:48:20 AM
Remote Name: 205.188.198.59

Comments

Michael, I do hope we get to meet and talk face to face. I think I would benefit greatly from the experience. In the meantime, our conversation at least can continue in this format.

Your account of your work with people living with aids helps me further appreciate your choice of the label PLWS (people living with stuttering). I can understand that you as well as the people you have counseled, who have been diagnosed as HIV positive or having AIDS, diagnoses that were considered death sentences not so long ago, would want to emphasize "living" and chose to be called "People Living With . . ."

However, I don't think their experiences coping with a life-threatening illness translate exactly to that of the person who seeks help over-coming a stuttering problem. They have not been given a death sentence. They probably have, however, experienced years of frustration, alienation, shame, embarrassment, anger, disappointment, etc. when they have attempted to speak the way they perceived others (without the problem they have) do.

In my experiece, at least many who seek a speech pathologist's help expect that with the right direction from professionals and with persistence on their part they can modify the way they talk and the way they think of themselves and others in this world. They have hope they will become free of their problem. They are "striving for" not "making the best of it" as they would be if they considered themselve to be "living with." I don't deny that some do give up hope, at least temporarily, of over-coming their stuttering problem. But even during those times I think their emotional and cognitive dynamic differs from that of someone facing the end of life under what are typically considered tragic circumstances. People with stuttering problems I have known, discouraged believing they may never change their way of speaking, generally are filled with anger not resignation. They are filled with the anger associated with a type of betrayal of being, perhaps, falsely, encouraged by themselves and/or others and then failing, often again and again. But underneath the tangle of feelings is hope (maybe defiance) they will transform themselves, which is different from hoping to survive.

For these reasons, I prefer to adopt the term "PWS (people who stutter)" to "PLWS (people living with stuttering)" to refer to people wishing to heal themselves of their problem.

I appreciate the fact that we both care about the sensitivities of people, and I am grateful for this exchange of perception.

It would, indeed, be a pleasure to meet you.

Ellen-Marie Silverman


Last changed: September 12, 2005