Hi!
Hello, I’m currently going into the SLP field, I was just curious if anyone had any good stories and can explain how a Speech Therapist has helped them?
Thank you!
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Hi
As stuttering was taboo in my family, they didn’t take me to an SLP until in my late teens, and I was unlucky to get an SLP who didn’t understand stuttering and blamed me for my stutter. But I met the most amazing therapists later in life, but I managed to be happy where I am, so am not looking for help. 🙂
But if I would choose one, I’d go for one who’s first question would be “how can I help you”.
See, we’re all different. A broken bone is a broken bone. It might be broken in different ways, but it’s still a broken bone, no matter the person attached to it. ? So, to be able to get to know me, and me to trust you, as I have a lot of luggage caused by my stutter that’s important for you to know, so let’s sit down and chat. 🙂
When I speak to therapists I tell them to not just hear my stutter, but to see and hear the whole me. Find out my background, find out where I stand today, find out what my needs are, and work from there. We’re all individuals with different stutters, different cultures, different experiences, so we all need a different approach. Tough for you, I know, but also an exiting challenge to find what makes us bloom! ? Give us a smörgåsbord of things to try. What helped me to get a better flow, mentally, physically and speech wise is a mix of regular speech training (pausing, articulation and alternating voice volume has been the most helpful for me), relaxation, mindfulness and NLP, music, massage, public speaking, fear reduction and finding my stamily and my voice. As you can see these things are very different, so if you’re not into all of these, find people who can, so that I can work on all of these things at the same time, just as John Harisson talks about in his Stuttering Hexagon.
Also to be humble (sometimes a therapist and a client are simply not a match, noone to blame) and to be creative (why not bring friends to the therapy room, so that they too learn about stuttering and can join their friends doing exercises, support and have fun together while doing tough challenges).
The face you’re here and asking these questions show you’re the right person for the job. ?
If you want more answers, do check out my papers and replies in previous conferences.
Stay safe and keep them talking
Anita
Yes I have a good one
Once, I was frustrated because I had a huge block. My SLP told me “But for how long did you not block” “A week” “One year earlier you blocked several time a day, yeah? So why are you not happy of yourself ? Idiot (I just added it to make fun of me haha)”
It shows that the key is often self love and acceptation. I have many more stories like this one