Question for a Professional
Hello, my name is Crimzen and I’m currently an undergraduate student majoring in SLP and Audiology taking a class called Intro to Disorders Communication! I was wondering when someone comes to you with a stutter what is your #1 goal for them when they walk out of your office/session? I know each person has different goals but what would your be your overall goal?
Dear Crimzen,
HI! What a great question! I will say a few things here and then let my wonderful peers chime in too!
My goal for that individual who stutters is really their goals. That may not be what you expected, but in my mind I can’t put expectations on anyone without knowing what they want. Examples:
—If a client wants to leave the office on any give day and just smile when they talk, that is my goal for them.
—If a client wants to leave my office learning how to “think” about their speech in a calmer way, that is my goal for them.
—If a client wants to work on job interviews and having just a little less stress during them for their future, that is my goal for them.
—If a client wants to practice and feel comfortable (a little bit) asking out a person on a date, that is my goal for them.
As therapist, our ULTIMATE goal for clients is to HOPE they enjoy communicating. Not matter what “communicating” means to them, we hope they enjoy the act of expression. After that, we follow the client’s lead.
Great question, Crimzen!
Have a wonderful day.
With compassion and kindness,
Scott
Dear Crimzen,
My number #1 goal for a fluency client who leaves my office is for them to know that stuttering is OK. That stuttering does not make them any less than anyone else. I also aspire for my clients to understand what stuttering is (and what it isn’t). But most of all I aspire for my clients to follow their dreams, desires and everyday tasks willingly without being hindered by their stuttering and to freely communicate in the world with whomever they choose to.
Hope this helps!
Good luck in school 🙂
Mikhal
Hi Crimzen!
Prioritizing goals for the client goes against the basic underlying principle of involving them in therapeutic decisions! The client must have agency to choose and prioritize their goals, following a path that someone else has set for them will never lead to the independence and self-sufficiency that we aim to achieve.
Nonetheless, ONE of the important goals that I would like for every PWS to achieve – though when, how and at what pace they achieve it is completely individual- is ACCEPTANCE. Acceptance of self as a person, acceptance of stuttering as a tendency, acceptance of one’s speech as ‘different’ and not ‘poor or abnormal’ is an extremely important step towards progress. If the PWS looks upon his stutter as something they want to get rid of, then achieving any of the other goals becomes an uphill task. So not the #1 goal, but yes a very important goal, I’d say, is acceptance.
Pallavi
Hi Crimzen! My overall goal is for them to feel better leaving my therapy room that when they came in. That can look a number of different ways. There are many effective therapeutic outcomes that a client can have. I explore with them what they want out of therapy and help to best achieve that.