PWS Discussion Question
Hello! My name is Meg Wages, and I am currently a graduate student. I am in a fluency class right now, and we have learned so much this semester about stuttering. I am also an SLP assistant in a school right now, and I have a child on my caseload that stutters. She is in group therapy, and the other kids in the therapy room are constantly finishing her sentences for her, and make statements all the time that “they are helping her out because it just takes her so long.” My question is, as a person who stutters, how would you want the SLP/adult to handle this situation? I have told them that what they are saying is rude, but I also don’t want the child to feel singled out by something I say to try to help them. I want to address it in a way that makes her feel comfortable and not embarrassed in any way.
Meg, what you say is rude might be a relief for the child trying to finish their sentence, In essence there is no definitive yes / no answer to your question because it depends on the individual. It didn’t bother me at school, particularly if they got it wrong and I was trying to say something else. The intervention seemed to release the pressure / block and my next few words / sentence could be totally fluent. My personal defence was humour ie making them laugh with me not at me and so even if they were right and it was the word I was trying to say I might change it just for the laugh.
But yes, some will hate people finishing their sentences whereas others might see it as friends trying to be helpful and protective…
Hi Meg
Sometimes people want to help, but are not really helping… So try to explain to the others (and this is interesting that this happens in the therapy room!) that, when they finish the other’s sentence, it causes more stress, more stuttering, and they have to wait even longer. Give them an exercise, where they, in small groups, interrupt each other and finish each other’s sentences, so that they feel the frustration themselves. Sometimes feeling it is stronger than being told. Also being a PWS to the class to talk about stuttering. When I talked in school, I made stuttering so cool, I got to write autographs. 😉
Can she (and does she want to) explain to the others how this makes her feel? Because, as Jon says, most PWS don’t want others to finish their sentences, but a few do. So let her tell you/the group what she wants.
And as Jon says: use humor. Marc Winski has great fun and educational videos on TikTok. Sam Wiggins (also in this conference) made videos on what he wants help with. StutteringisCool has fun buttons to wear to get the elephant out of the room. Use the ISAD and Dec 3 (international day of people with disabilities) to raise awareness. Maybe an exhibition on what CWS want others to know and do/not to do.
Keep them talking
Anita