Thoughts on those who voluntarily stutter?
Hi there, my name is Elizabeth and I was wondering from the perspective of a PWS what your thoughts are about people- primarily students in speech pathology- who stutter. For a class assignment I did this experimental project and I personally found it very enlightening and gave me a ton perspective. However there were people from outside the class who passed judgment and “political correctness” saying that is was insensitive. As a PWS what are your thoughts on those opposing ideas made from people who are fluent speakers?
Elizabeth, if a speech therapist / SLP doesn’t feel the embarrassment or see the sideways glances someone who stammers feels and sees on a regular basis then how can they truly empathise or understand what their client is going through. I personally think every trainee therapist / SLP should speak for a week with a voluntary stammer ie in all social and work situations so as to fully understand what their client feels like when trying to communicate with the outside world. True, it’s not the same because they can instantly revert to fluent speech whilst we can’t but it’s the next best thing.
Good question by the way.
Something else, one of the best therapists I ever met was a stammerer herself who had trained herself to be almost fluent. Again, knowing what’s under the water surface (the iceberg analogy) is as if not more important than what shows above the water line. If the client can’t relate to the therapist there will be little if any progress.
Hi, Elizabeth. I’m not sure I fully understand your question, but I’ll give it my best shot.
It is certainly possible for a fluent speech-language pathologist to become an excellent clinician for stuttering. I would say that among the best seven clinicians that I’ve had during my life, five were fluent speakers.
It is true that the personal experience of stuttering may provide one with some greater insights regarding the cnallenges with which a person who stutters must cope, and problems a person who stutters may encounter in daily life. But it is very possible for a fluent clinician to learn from people who stutter, and to become very knowledgeable about these challenges and problems, as seen from a professional perspective.
It is not right for a person who stutters to simply dismiss the viewpoints of someone trained in speech-language pathology (an SLP or an SLP student) simply because the person trained doesn’t have their own personal experience with the stuttering disorder.
I have encountered this attitude at times in stuttering forums, and to me it is a really narrow way of thinking.
But if you wish to become very familiar with the ways in which most people who stutter think, and the perspectives of those who have the disorder, I can suggest two ways to do this:
1) Join an online stuttering forum, and read what people who stutter are saying – what their ideas are, what their perspectives are, what they experience in their daily lives.
2) Attend a national or international stuttering conference, and talk to many of those attending. If you come to know many people who stutter, and show them that you are deeply interested in their experiences and perspectives, you will become highly respected by people who stutter – as a deeply caring, compassionate, and knowledgeable clinician.
Best of luck to you!!
HI, again.
I see now that I totally misunderstood your question, so I will answer again.
I think it can be a very valuable experience for a fluent student of speech-language pathology to gain some insight into the world of people who stutter, by voluntarily stuttering in selected situations. Personally I don’t see a valid reason for criticism of this practice. It is a learning experience, and for a worthwhile purpose – I see this as a valid part of one’s professional training.
From my understanding, this is a practice that used to be quite common in fluency disorders courses – but somewhat less common now, perhaps due to the types of objections you have heard.
I don’t see anything wrong with this practice, myself. It is being done in the context of professional training; it is not being done to belittle the experiences of people who stutter, or to diminish in any way the personal experiences of people who stutter.