Advice for future SLP
Hello,
My name is Danielle and I am in my second year of graduate school for speech pathology. I am in a fluency class this semester and I have really enjoyed learning about stuttering and PWS. We have had great examples in class, from videos and documentaries to speakers coming to visit. I feel like I am always learning how every PWS is different, and my therapy should reflect that. We are learning that for many, it is important to be a good listener and provide an environment that is welcoming of all kinds of communication. In your experience, did you participate in speech therapy at any point? Was there anything that your speech pathologist said or did that stuck with you or really made a difference for you?
Hi Danielle!
I did receive speech therapy. However, much of it was when I was growing up in the 90s when stigmas about stuttering were still a lot more prevalent. There really weren’t a lot of positives with stuttering at the time. For me, at least, there weren’t any discussions about accepting and/or embracing stuttering but rather calling it a “problem” and needing to “fix” it. And something I wish I was told back then, no one said “It’s okay to stutter.”
With that said, though, I’m less inclined to blame my SLPs but instead chalk it up to a sign of the times. That is just my opinion, though.
But there were still plenty of good things I took from therapy:
My most memorable SLP was a woman named Carol, who was empathetic and attentive (two crucial attributes any SLP needs). She could be tough but I knew she cared a great deal and always thought of fun, effective ways to improve my speech.
For instance, she wrote famous names on cue cards and had me introduce them as if they were sitting next to us; we always played board games that required more speaking (i.e. Guess Who, Trivial Pursuit). But also, her grading system was in three categories: Not So Good, Good, Great.
That’s a good example of her teaching method: she was never negative or discouraging. She never said that was “bad” or anything. That stood out.
In my opinion, at least, if more SLPs were like Carol, the better.
Hi Danielle
Happy to read you’re having great examples in class, including speakers. But as we’re all so different, never hesitate to ask your client about his/her stutter, experiences etc. As you know so much about therapy, but we have a lot of knowledge about ourselves for you too. 🙂 Yes, listening is very important. And daring to ask questions. To your clients, parents, teachers, but also to the local support group for PWS, in chatgroups etc.
In my family stuttering was “wrong”, so I was not sent to speech therapy until in my teens. And to not go into too much details, two had hurt me physically and emotionally, others were so focussed on fluency, they ignored I was a human being. So I’m so happy to see that today’s SLPs are so much better, understanding, stepping outside the box and outside their comfort zones. As it’s a tough search to find something that fits that very client, but very rewarding when you do. 🙂
Some comments that stuck with me were “See your parents are right, you don’t want to stop stuttering”. And “you’re doing so much better, you stutter less”, while I instead stopped talking and spent all my time awake trying to avoid stuttering. But also “Wow, you’re making so much progress stepping out of your comfort zone”.
I now practice public speaking with a group of PWS and the keyword there is FUN! Stuttering is tough, so to make exercises fun, makes it easier to keep practicing. The goal is not fluency, but to love speaking. We are teaching each other tools, but it’s free for all which to use, or even IF you want to use any at all. So working in groups, or even inviting a friend to a PWS to the therapy room can help to do exercises together, cheer each other, and simply have fun doing it.
Keep them talking
Anita