Putting yourself in a PWS shoes
Hello! My name is Karishma and I’m a CSUF senior hoping to become a speech-language pathologist. My question for you is what are some ways you put yourself in a PWS shoes? In other words, how do you help see things from their perspective?
Karishma,
HI! Great question! Thanks for being an advocate for your education and being willing to learn more for yourself and your future clients.
PUtting ourselves in the shoes of others builds compassion and resilience. It opens our eyes to what we did not know, thus is an educational experience. One of the most popular ways to do this is to practice different stuttering behaviors in a public setting. This is a way to see and feel what person with a communication disorder/difference experiences everyday. This will open up your eyes to your automatic reactions that you probably did not know were there and so much more.
You can talk to PWS. Ask them questions, like you can at this conference. The thing is, you already know struggle and suffering (everyone has something(s) that they struggle with. So we all know that negative thoughts can overwhelm at times. That hurt feelings can pain our heart. That anger because we can’t do something we wished we could can influence feelings of sadness, anger, and guilt.
MY point is, you know struggle in some sense, and thus you walk in the shoes of everyone everyday. And, to walk in the shoes of a PWS, you can talk to PWS and get their life experiences.
Also, I would encourage watching films and documentaries about the stuttering experience. They can help too.
Does that help?
with compassion and kindness,
Scott
Hey Karishma!
I agree with Scott, and incidentally my fluency professor used to give us the same exercise as students to familiarize us with the entire spectrum of feelings that PWS experience. I would advocate watching documentaries on stuttering as well. In fact Scott was involved in making a beautiful documentary himself, and I along with many others have had the privilege of watching it with a live audience back in Japan in 2018!
Another (albeit slightly simplistic) way to put yourself in the shoes of a PWS, could be to think of any chronic and visible condition you / someone close to you might have, that proves to be a setback in their day to day lives. Take acne, or obesity, for instance. It is something that is very visible, chronic.. and if a person has lived with it for years together, it could affect self-confidence, make them hesitate to meet people or get into situations where the first impression matters. Hope one of these ways help!
Regards
Pallavi