Knowing about therapy for stuttering

Knowing what to expect from speech therapy, what the therapist does, and why your child does not use what he is learning makes it easier for parents to understand the process of controlling stuttering.  This page gives information that is helpful so parents know what questions to ask the therapist.  It also helps the parents be more understanding with the child and be able to help more at home. 

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/what-happens-therapy

Choosing a speech therapist

This page talks about if a child should have speech therapy, how to choose a therapist, and what to expect:

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/does-my-child-need-therapy-stuttering

television, radio, internet, and blogs

I find it very interesting to read other blogs, and this is one I have been reading lately http://www.stutteringhelp.org/blog

It is interesting to read about things that happen in therapy and that Harrison Craig and Lazaro Arbos have been helpful to young people who stutter who had never met anyone else who spoke like them.  They don't feel so alone in the world when they see people on television who stutter.

My uncles who stuttered didn't have a television when they were young.  I don't know how old they were before they had one or if some of them ever did.  Since nobody but their family where they lived spoke with a stutter, I bet they thought there was something wrong with only them until one left home and was sent to a speech therapist. What a different life they would have had with television, radio, and the internet to be able to get support from others who stutter.

Thankfully, the one who was sent for speech therapy learned about The Stuttering Foundation of America and their self therapy book that his therapist used.  Those who stutter and grow up in this age of technology will have it so much easier than those who grew up years ago. 

Tips for those who stutter

This was a great show about stuttering.  The interesting thing to me was hearing how to slide into words, talk like Winston Churchill and use pauses to break a sentence up and lessen stuttering.  These are just some things that a well-trained speech therapist can help those who stutter learn to do to make their speech smoother.  One of my uncles was so lucky to find out about the Stuttering Foundation when he was an adult.  Parents who have children who start stuttering should seek help so they can be referred to a speech therapist who can help the child so they hopefully don't have a lifelong problem.  Just like a health problem, the earlier you seek help, the better.

http://wpr.org/webcasting/m3u/listen78.m3u

One week of therapy!

"A week-long, intense course of speech therapy may help reduce stuttering, a new study shows. What's more, improvements in speech corresponded with actual brain changes documented on MRI scans."  Read the rest of the article at http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20120808/week-long-speech-therapy-may-improve-stuttering

The Stuttering Foundation responds to this article with "It is our experience that a competent therapist can help a person who stutters become fluent in one week. That is not the challenge; the goal in stuttering therapy is staying fluent - taking what you learn in the therapy setting and transferring it into the real world and maintaining that level of fluency over time."  Read the rest here
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/prnewswire/press_releases/Tennessee/2012/08/08/DC54596

The Foundation has referrals to speech therapists who are trained to work with stuttering.  They have lists of intensive clinics and summer workshops, too.

Therapy

If you resist having therapy and think it is useless, it will be. This goes for any kind of therapy whether for a speech problem or a physical problem. Those who have a qualified speech therapist and who learn the techniques and practice them will obtain better speech. Those who have had joint replacement and go to physical therapy and follow the instructions while at home will have mobility again. Those who don't will continue on as they were or be immobilized and bed ridden. It is a choice!

Stuttering specialists

Click on the title of this post to read an article about the difference it made for a child to go to a stuttering specialist. This is why going to a speech therapist who is trained to work with people who stutter is better than going to just any speech therapist. Asking the right questions to find the right therapist for the age of the child is important, too. The Stuttering Foundation of America gives a parent all the tools needed to find the right match for their child. They help with tips for getting insurance coverage, referrals to qualified therapists, how the parent can help at home, what to expect from therapy, etc.

Can't depend on those devices

Everyone who stutters wants a quick fix. One uncle said that he wished he could just bang his head on the wall and make the stuttering go away. Unfortunately, there has been no quick fix found. Some people have found that they get some relief from medications or devices, but they don't work for all stutterers. Studies that I have read about have shown that people have spent lots of money on a device that worked at first but after awhile it didn't work for them. I would think that you would want something to work for you all of the time and to know that it would not stop working for you if you spent a bunch of money on it.

People who have gone to therapy say that it didn't help them. I would wonder if they went to a speech therapist who specialized in treating stuttering. I would also wonder if the stutterer practiced the techniques they were taught. My uncles and cousins who stuttered worked through "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" with one uncle going to speech therapy at the same time. His therapist used that book in her sessions. All of them said that it was not a book to just read, but one that they had to study and work slowly through each section while practicing what they learned. None of them tried any medication nor device and all of them became much more fluent.

It seems that you can't depend on those devices, and it would be better to spend the time and effort on learning what to do to become more fluent and practice, practice, practice! If a PWS has money to spend, it is well worth putting it into paying for speech therapy from a professional who specializes in treating stuttering.

Speech Therapy for teens and adults

Stuttering therapy for teens and adults usually means changing long-standing speech behaviors, emotions, and attitudes about talking and communication in general. As a result, length and type of therapy can vary greatly depending on your goals. A list of sample therapy goals for teens and adults includes:
Reducing the frequency of stuttering;
Decreasing the tension and struggle of stuttering moments;
Working to decrease word or situation avoidances;
Learning more about stuttering;
Using effective communication skills such as eye contact or phrasing; and,
Determining whether goals relate to long-term change or to meet a specific short-term need, such as a job interview.
Working together with a speech pathologist who is knowledgeable about stuttering will help you identify your personal goals.

source: The Stuttering Foundation of America

Self therapy for stuttering

Many adults who stutter say that they have attended therapy sessions several times during their lifetime with no results. This doesn't mean that they can't be helped. It could be that they went to a school speech therapist who was not trained in helping those who stutter. It could be that they did not think they could be helped and therefore did not practice the techniques they were taught and really give it all they could. For whatever reason therapy didn't help in the past is no reason to not give it a try again. If a speech therapist who is trained in working with stuttering is not affordable or not close by, get the book "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" and work diligently through the steps on your own.

"There is a rich tradition of self-therapy for stuttering. That such therapy can be effective is shown by the success of many people using their own techniques to improve their fluency. In a very real sense, the PWS is never really helped in therapy without healing him/herself. Some self-therapy approaches, disciplined and enriched by study, research, and many years of clinical practice, have become successful in treating other stutterers. This is the case with Charles Van Riper's therapy and others.
Another useful approach is that taken in the book Self Therapy for the Stutterer, published by the Stuttering Foundation of America. This book provides contributions from therapists who give general and specific guidance for PWS who want usable near-term techniques to help increase their fluency or who are happy enough to live with managed stuttering." Darrell M. Dodge

Valerie Brun obtained both "Self Therapy for the Stutterer" and "Advice to Those Who Stutter" and made these comments: "What I liked about these two books is how down-to-earth they are. They make no secret of the fact that there are no short cuts, no easy remedies, it is down to very hard work mostly carried out by oneself. We need the guidance and directions as to how to do it but no-one can do the work for us. I worked very hard, especially at reading aloud, listening to myself on tape (urgh!) and reading again. I did not try to tackle everything at once; I worked on the easier goals first and then on to the more difficult ones, but at the same time trying to remember four basics. Not too fast, remember to pause, soft contacts, remember to breathe regularly. (Just think, most people just talk without thinking about how they do it!)."

Both books are published by The Stuttering Foundation of America and are good for the adult or teen to work through either on their own or with a therapist.