As a clinician..
Hello! I am currently a graduate student and would like to know, as a person who stutters, what do you wish SLPs would do differently or knew more about when working with individuals that stutter? I think we learn about stuttering from a very textbook stance, and would appreciate an additional perspective on stuttering and what we can do to better help our clients.
What I hope for SLPs is to not just go by the book, as we’re individuals, with different experiences, cultures and backgrounds. To start by listening and finding out our stories and why we are in your therapy room. As not all want to be “cured”. Some want information, others want others to receive information, some want to feel better about themselves, others want help in certain situations, etc.
Also, don’t judge us by the amount of stuttering. Some stutter and lot but couldn’t care less, other are covert and stuttering is a major issue. So provide a smörgåsbord with tools and think outside the box. For me what helped a lot is speech training, combined with singing and theatre, NLP and Mindfulness, Presentation techniques and yoga.
You know therapy, your client knows about his/her stutter. So together you’re the perfect team.
Stay safe and keep them talking
Anita