2022 Talk to a PWS
Hello, my name is Angela! I’m currently studying in an undergraduate program to become a Speech Language Pathologist. As someone who is studying in this field I would love to hear about some of your personal experiences in speech therapy! What technique in therapy worked best for you? Also, what is one of your best and worst experiences in therapy?
My worst experiences with SLP I won’t even mention here. But what made me stop different therapies was when there was only focus on fluency, breathing, and even hearing it was my fault. But the opposite was also true, and the right SLPs and other persons who saw I needed other things than total fluency, and that stuttering is so much more than speech alone, lifted me up and make me stronger.
Upbringing, culture, society, religion, personality, all of these things play a part. So to know where to start, you will need to find out who and what we bring to the table. It might seem like the hardest part, but once you’ll get to know your client and s/he offers you the trust to open up, you’ll find a true connection with your client and can work together (as you have the tools, but the client is the expert on his/her own stutter). So I’d like SLPs to start by listening and to think out of the box. Listening, because stuttering is so much more than what you see and hear. Stuttering is in our minds, hearts and the rest of our bodies as well.
In my keynote speech for the ISA World Congress http://stutteringiscool.com/podcast/therapy-smorgasbord/ I spoke about stuttering treatment being a smorgasbord. As PWS are such a huge variation of people, all with a different stutter, a different background, with different experiences AND with different wants and needs, there is no one therapy for all. One might want fluency, another might want confidence, the third might want public speaking skills, the fourth might simply want relaxation. A multi-disciplinary approach, with not just clinicians, but also using yoga, song, mindfulness and massage might do the trick. Just like going to the gym is not for all. Sometimes the tools aren’t right, sometimes the clinician/trainer, sometimes the time isn’t right. So by listening to the client and, together with the client, find a smorgasbord of activities to pick from, and maybe invite a friend to the therapy room to help your client with the challenges and exercises outside the therapy room might be the key. (Just as it’s more fun to do tough things together with a friend.) So, give the client a smorgasbord, explain the different “dishes” and let the client pick and choose and give it a try. It’s the combination of “flavors” that can make the perfect “dish”. 🙂 Being in this “kitchen” together, client and clinician, makes a team and can maybe create new “dishes”, instead of a teacher-student situation where one simply does what he is told, leaving the room with a sigh of relief. And what is more rewarding than for a client to feel proud and wanting to keep on expending comfort zones and new speaking levels, and for the clinician to watch and cheer the client, you’ve been coaching, reaching new levels. 🙂 The books need to be rewritten, from counting stuttered syllables, risking to silence the client, to counting life successes, as that’s what really matters.
So keep them talking
Anita