Helpful Therapy
As a graduate student who is currently enrolled in a stuttering course, I can say that we are learning a lot about how to provide effective speech therapy intervention for PWS as well as counseling techniques to help aid in intervention. I would like to know what strategies, techniques, and therapy approaches you find most helpful and effective when it comes to utilizing these in daily life and typical conversations with others. Someone I knew with stuttering once mentioned to me that he would engage in slam poetry, karaoke and other forms of these events to practice speech and tackle nerves and fear that surrounded his stutter. I know everyone is different and different therapy approaches/techniques are widely used, just wanted another perspective. Thanks for your insight!
We’re all different. We all have a different stammer severity. I knew a great guy called Chris who didn’t stammer at all until he was asked his name. He then blocked and nearly died from embarrassment.
If I want to be fluent, which I don’t because at 68, nearly 69, I’m more concerned with enjoying life than fluency, I’d run one sentence into the next. Almost like singing but not singing and also using soft starts to sentences to avoid blocking.
The thing is, I’m not bothered whether I stammer or not – and don’t think those around me are either – and as long as I can get my thoughts over (whether fluently or not) that’s all that really matters.
Hi,
I completely agree with Jon, we are all different.
as you pointed out, what helps one person may not help another person who stutters, treatment and therapy are as varied as people who stutter are.
For me personally, having a wide range of tools in my toolbox helped because I needed different ones at different times. As a person who was largely covert for most of my life I found using voluntary stammering helpful in easing me into stuttering openly. At other times, I found challenging my twisted thinking, e.g., the idea that I would lose my job if I stuttered openly, helpful in getting perspective on my thinking about my stammer.
I think the most essential part of therapy is understanding what the person who stammers wants and needs at that particular time and tailoring the treatment to what will meet their needs.
Progress, in whatever form it takes, is rarely linear so being willing to try different approaches knowing some will help and some might not, is, in my opinion, a good route to take.
Veronica
Thank you for this most interesting question!
For me to answer it with respect to myself, I need to do it in several parts – as my philosophies and attitudes regarding stuttering have dramatically shifted over the years. The techniques and strategies that I used in the past (often very effectively) I no longer use – and instead I have a very different way of handling stuttering now.
I will answer by referring to two different breakthroughs in my life, regarding the way I have viewed stuttering.
In some ways these two breakthroughs may seem to be polar opposites in perspectives, but in other ways the first one helped me indirectly into the second one.
The first occurred in the mid-1980’s, when I was 30 years old. I attended the Hollins Communications Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia, to learn the Precision Fluency Shaping Program.
After three months of daily intensive practicing of these techniques (relaxing comfortably full diaphragmatic breathing, gentle onsets, loudness contouring within syllables, and slightly stretched sounds), I achieved what I considered to be a milestone victory at the time. For the first time in my life, I became totally fluent in all situations!
Now I knew that fluency was within my grasp, and I had the power to achieve consistent fluency.
This consistent fluency lasted quite a few months, but eventually collapsed. For years I took fluency refresher after fluency refresher, and always managed to bring consistent fluency back into my life. But it always collapsed eventually.
What I realized was that maintaining my fluency – for me – required really intensive work, not only in daily formal practice (of an hour or more), but also careful monitoring of techniques in all conversations.
And I could not maintain this fluency without these intensive efforts.
Eventually – after many years – I just decided this was too much work, and that the goal of maintaining total consistent fluency of speech just wasn’t worth all those enormous efforts. I realized that there was much more to life than to be obsessed with maintaining fluency of speech.
And then came the second big breakthrough, which occurred about 20 years ago, when I was in my later 40’s. It was important for me to realize that achieving total fluency was very possible for me, if I REALLY wanted it badly enough, and if I really thought fluency was essential to a happy life.
But I came to the realization that it really wasn’t.
I decided to simply accept myself calmly and peacefully as a person who just happens to stutter.
I decided to get rid of my obsession to transform myself into a Fluent Person, into someone who always would speak with the greatest of fluency.
Why indeed was this necessary?
I could just be who I was, who I am, and who I will continue to be.
I’m a person who happens to stutter. So what?
Life became so much happier for me, and so much less stressful, when I finally achieved this realization and acceptance.
In retrospect it was important to me to understand that fluency was within my grasp if I really wanted it, and if I really wanted to work hard for it.
And that understanding helped me in my newer journey of acceptance. Yes – I can have it if I REALLY want it. But my life is fine and happy as it is. And that’s perfectly okay with me.