[ Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Ed Feuer
Date: 11 Oct 2008
Time: 11:49:41 -0500
Remote Name: 142.161.162.82
From the speaker's viewpoint, I would refer people to Van Riper's discussion of the fragmented self in his classic, The Treatment of Stuttering. But there's the other half of the equation which is generally ignored by SLPs -- the listener's viewpoint and the image of stuttering. And given the high level of public ignorance about the problem, that image of stuttering in conversational useage is one of lower intelligence, shame, failure and incompetence. Conversational usage is the equivalent of the difference between saying one is feeling depressed and having clinical depression. So when members of the public meet someone who really does stutter, any resulting unfair social and vocational discrimination should come as no surprise. The lack of comprehension by SLPs and their refusal to address the other half of the equation represents only another part of the profession's failure in stuttering. -- edfeuer@mts.net