Can stuttering be cured?

CAN STUTTERING BE CURED? NO
CAN STUTTERING LEAD TO IMPROVED FLUENCY? ABSOLUTELY, BUT NOTICE I DID NOT SAY TOTAL FLUENCY.

LAST NIGHT, MY SISTER N LAW (WHO IS LIKE A SISTER I NEVER HAD AND MY GOOD FRIEND) ASKED ME WITH GUARDED SKEPTICISM, IF STUTTERING COULD BE CURED? I WAS TALKING NON-STOP TO MY FAMILY THAT I DIDN'T GIVE HER A GREAT ANSWER AND REALIZED THAT MAYBE I HADN'T EDUCATED MY FAMILY THE BEST ON WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE DONE WITH STUTTERING.

I WANT TO THANK MY SISTER N LAW (LORI-WHO SHARES MY NAME) FOR REMINDING ME HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON STUTTERING AND THERAPY.

HERE GOES MY REVIEW FOR MY FAMILY AND THE WORLD:

1. FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN, APPROX. 20% OF CHILDREN EXPERIENCE PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENTAL DYSFLUENCIES OR SIMPLY PUT "STUTTERING". THERE ARE CERTAIN CRITERIA USED TO DETERMINE WHICH CHILDREN SHOULD START THERAPY. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT 80% OF THESE CHILDREN WILL OUTGROW STUTTERING ON THEIR OWN. HOWEVER, I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, THERE IS NO DEFINITIVE WAY OF KNOWING WHO WILL OUTGROW STUTTERING ON THEIR OWN. IS IT WORTH THE RISK OF WAITING, NO!!! I AM A PERSON WHO STUTTERS AND MY CHILDHOOD YEARS WERE DIFFICULT. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR PEDIATRICIAN OR SCHOOL DISTRICT TELLS YOU, DO NOT WAIT. FIND A SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WHO DEALS WITH STUTTERING AND ONE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH. THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION OF AMERICA HAS A WONDERFUL REFERRAL LIST AND TERRIFIC RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE WHO STUTTER (WWW.STUTTERINGHELP.ORG)

WHAT HELPS PRESCHOOLERS? MODIFYING THE ENVIRONMENT, LIDCOMBE THERAPY (VERY SUCCESSFUL WITH RESEARCH BACKING IT). IN MANY CASES, PRESCHOOL STUTTERING CAN BE ELIMINATED. SO, WHY WAIT? MY WEBSITE HAS GREAT INFORMATION WWW.ALLISLANDSPEECH.COM

2. CAN SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN BE HELPED? YES. WE HAVE TO DETERMINE SEVERAL FACTORS. USUALLY PAST AGE 6, STUTTERING CAN'T BE ELIMINATED BUT CHILDREN CAN BE TAUGHT CORRECT BREATHING, CONTINUOUS SPEAKING AND WAYS NOT TO BE EMBARRASSED BY STUTTERING. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOT LET SPEAKING FEARS DEVELOP AT THIS AGE.

3. TEENS AND ADULTS-I PREFER INTENSIVE THERAPY AT THIS AGE. I USE A FLUENCY SHAPING APPROACH WITH COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS BUILT IN. I MYSELF HAVE HAD SUCCESS AS I AM MOSTLY FLUENT AND HAVE SUCCESS WITH MANY MANY CLIENTS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT, OFFER IT AT MY PRACTICE. I HAVE ALSO DONE THIS APPROACH WITH OUT OF STATE AND INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS. (TELETHERAPY). I USE WHAT I TEACH.

ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU CAN'T POST, PLEASE E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY AT LORI@ALLISLANDSPEECH.COM

Happy International Stuttering Awareness Day-Oct. 22, 2009

On this day, I want to thank all my clients who open up to me and trust me enough to allow me to help them with their journey towards improving fluency and communication skills.

Insurance-please share? Stuttering

There is information on the Stuttering Foundation of America (www.stutteringhelp.org) regarding insurance. Can any parents or people who stutter share any success stories dealing with insurance coverage??

It is frustrating for parents and patients when they are told it is not covered. Any encouraging words out there????

International Stuttering Awareness Day-Oct. 22, 2009

FREE initial consultations for the month of Oct for children, teens and adults who stutter in honor of International Stuttering Awareness Day. Please also check out www.stutteringhomepage.com, www.stutteringhelp.org for additional information.

Have you ever pushed a word out so hard you felt like you could pass out? I often wonder why people who stutter do this. Today I exercised for the first time in a while. I walked two miles with a friend. I really had to push myself. Yet, people who stutter push, run out of breath and then keep pushing.

It is so wonderful to not have to push words out but the tendency is still there after all these years. Hopefully the tendency will be there to push myself to exercise. Interesting how life is.

Adult stuttering Intensive Nov. 8th

Adult Stuttering Fluency Intensive Sunday Nov. 8th 6:30 to 8:30
Contact Lori@allislandspeech.com for more information.

Love Happens-A movie with Jennifer Anniston

Last night my husband and I saw "Love Happens". It is about a man whose wife dies in a car crash with him at the wheel. He then writes a book about how to deal with death. The only problem is that he doesn't follow his own advice. He doesn't deal with his own loss. I won't spoil the ending and tell you what happens.

What I love about what I do (not to toot my own horn) is that I practice what I preach. I have gone down the path and in some ways my first client was my self.

I feel I can only be at my best when a child who stutters sits in front of me with the sadness in his eyes that only a person who stutters knows. A voice reaching from within to get out. Frustration at not being able to say what they want.

Again it is so important to build self esteem, practice in baby steps at the same time constantly encouraging responsibility, honestly and pride. It was interesting how the man in the movie really seem to care about others, but the denial was burning him up inside. Only when he learned to be honest with his feelings did he start to heal. The same with stuttering. Although fluency tools are encouraged, you also need the ability to face your fears and conquer the obstacles. Then and only then you will lead to recovery.

Do we push or let it fall? Stuttering?

Don't attempt fluency transfer unless we agree!!!

Earlier today I had a wonderful conversation with my 11 year old daughter. Leah has been very verbal since age two and has always appeared older than she is, which made it difficult in elem. school. I have mentioned before that when Leah was young, she had reading difficulties. In first grade she was pulled out for reading. Many of the kids were receiving services at that young age so there really wasn't an obvious stigma attached. It took me months to get her help because she was only slightly below average in their eyes, however, I knew she was struggling and her self esteem would eventually suffer. She was quickly discharged after a few months and the following year they determined she still had difficulty reading at grade level. At this point only a few kids were being pulled for extra help and Leah knew it. It reminded me when I used to get pulled out of class for speech therapy. I wanted to hide. She also had a teacher who insisted she had to read out loud. I don't have to tell any of you how her confidence suffered. In fact, it suffered so much so that they felt she might have a learning disability. Fortunately, my husband and I knew what was happening to her confidence and how much it was impacting her academic performance. We struggled to get her private reading help, which was financially difficult because my husband had been laid off at the time. We found a wonderful reading teacher who encouraged and helped her. The following year, Leah had a wonderful, fabulous teacher in 3rd grade who was able to see her for who she really was. Leah no longer required reading help, excelled, wanted to raise her hand and read out loud. This same child who seemed so halted by how she was being perceived all of sudden ran for class vice president and won. She is now in sixth grade and is an advanced reader. I am so proud of her for working hard and never giving up. She also taught me how important it is to encourage everyone I work with and the effect it has on their success.

So, why am I telling you this? I am telling you this because the same thing happens with kids and adults who stutter. They often don't receive enough encouragement, support and success to improve fluency. It takes hard work to do this as it took hard work for Leah to become a better reader. It didn't happen overnight. It took years and constant encouragement. Becoming fluent in a therapy room is a fairly simple. As Pam commented, it is being out in the real world when you have to deal with time constraints, educating others about stuttering, and coordinating all the components needed to communicate effectively. BUT I am telling you it can be done if this is what you choose. The younger one is, the easier it is,to at least change the thought process and not be ashamed of stuttering. Remember, we all excel with encouragement, praise and success behind us. It is human nature!

ok, how come everyone is telling me they don't know how to post? Please help me so I can help you. Isn't there a post option??

Focus and Stuttering

Last night I went out with 17 sorority sisters from my alumni Hofstra University. I hadn't seen many of them for 24 years. Long time. I was a little anxious because I find large crowds more difficult to talk in. I had a great time but noticed myself stuttering and blocking more than usual. I don't think it helped that I had diet cokes with caffeine (I find caffeine makes my stutttering worse). About half way through the dinner I excused myself and went to the ladies room. I stood in the hall for a few seconds and practiced some full breath breathing. I tried to envision the situation in my mind and how I would use easy onsets. Interestingly, I hadn't seen many of these friends in the last ten years when I have achieved a higher level of fluency and confidence with stuttering. I had to remind myself that I had the controls. I wasn't embarrassed about stuttering, but felt I wasn't saying what I wanted. I went back to the table and really focused. My speech became more controlled. I paused more and initiated conversation. What did I learn from this? I still stutter and have the potential to stutter with struggle. I have to focus on my tools, not be ashamed of stuttering and continue to practice. I woke up this morning and knew I would be in a similar situation today at the autism walk (great fundraiser). This time I practiced more in the morning and felt much more controlled. This is a good lesson for all of us. We still stutter, but should never give up. Would love to hear more success stories. tks for reading. Bye for now.