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From: John Harrison
Date: 22 Oct 2008
Time: 16:49:46 -0500
Remote Name: 71.135.106.92
Well thank YOU, Mark, for mounting such an thoughtful and elegant argument on the need for a new descriptive term. If there's one thing I've learned over my 30 years involvement in the stuttering community it's that people end up in circular discussions around stuttering because they do not use a precise terminology. You can talk about something being hot, or you can talk about it being 120 degrees. One term gives you useful information, the other MAY be useful information if both parties hold the same definition for the word "hot." But they might not, and that opens the door to confusion and miscommunication. Here's another example. Imagine if I invited you over to my house for dinner and I told you that I was going to cook a cat? Would you come? EEEwwwww. Probably not. But if you thought I was referring to a pussycat, and I was talking about a catfish, the problem lies in the definition of words. I think that your coming up with the term Stuttered Speech Syndrome has long been required if the professional AND the stuttering community is going to communicate about this very complex subject. Chronic stuttering is a complex phenomenon that can involve many aspects of the individual. I think you really nailed it with this term, and I hope that the world is quick to adopt it. I think it would clear up a lot of confusion and get people "talking on the same page."