Stuttering and Down Syndrome

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Stuttering Knows No Boundaries

From: Pamela Mertz
Date: 28 Sep 2008
Time: 13:02:19 -0500
Remote Name: 24.195.241.203

Comments

I enjoyed learning more about the relationship with stuttering and DS. I worked recently with a non-profit serving adults with developmental disabilities, and three of the consumers I worked with have Down Syndrome and stutter. Two are males, in their early 20's and one is a 40-something woman. I related quite well with them, because I stutter, but some of the staff had more of a hard time with thier stuttering than they did with their intellectual impairments. Since I was just beginning to embrace my own stuttering and was getting therapy from the College of St Rose in Albany, NY, I worked on getting the 3 referred to St Rose for two semesters of therapy. It was a good experience, for all involved, but especially the SLP students, who were getting the experience of working with special needs population. It was a normalizing, inclusive experience for the 3 consumers too, since they were on a college campus, and getting exposure to the same community resources available to non-disabled PWS. It is important to understand how Down Syndrome affects the consumer, and the shame of stuttering was indeed a concern, especially for the older female consumer. Thanks for such a helpful, comprehensive article.


Last changed: 09/28/08