From: Michael Sugarman
Date: 10/18/00
Time: 1:30:13 AM
Remote Name: 152.163.195.177
Ellen-Marie,
Good discussion-
Is stuttering considered a chronic disability/handicap?
I work with adults in Oakland, Ca./USA where medications are available. HIV is viewed as a chronic disability. My social work role has changed from preparing someone to die to assisting plwa: coping with a chronic disability, living life, pursuing relationships (safely), reducing the risk of relapse, finding employment prospects, etc.
I've counseled clients with a positive attitude to life. I have also worked with clients who have expressed various fears such as being rejected by an employer after disclosing their disability. "It took me twenty two years to tell someone I stuttered." I've talked to friends with various disabilities and colleagues who work in the field of cerebral palsy, diabetes, polio and paraplegia. They shared their stories in terms of living with...
Maybe, too, it's a natural process to progress from "stutterer" to "pws" to "it's ok to stutter" to "living with.." I do not feel it's a negative reflection for fluency therapy. What is the goal of fluency therapy?
I'll be in Washington DC. I'll try to find you--Kindly,Michael