Teens and Stuttering

I would like to share an interesting story about a teenage boy I was working with today. He has worked very hard to improving his speech and fluency. He also has a great attitude and knows that stuttering does not define who he is. He told me today that the less he is pressured from family about using fluency tools, the more he uses them on his own. As a result, he is talking more in school, is more fluent and is making more friends. This was a profound statement and difficult when explaining to parents why teenagers, have to take responsibility for their own speech and practice. It is so difficult as parents to watch our children struggle and find their own way in life. It takes courage to back off and let them make mistakes until they find the way to contentment.

Fortune 52 Nomination LI Press

Sorry I haven't finished the speech therapy advice. I got very sidetracked with school starting.
*******************************Big News******************

I was nominated for a wonderful award. To read more, please read:
http://www.longislandpress.com/2009/09/02/lori-melnitsky/

I never thought when I was young and severely stuttering I would be nominated for an award like this. tk you for everything.

Intensive fluency Programs-Do they work?

ok-it's Sunday and I have time to write-so hear goes.

Let me give you some important background on me. I BELIEVE in intensive fluency for teens and adults, even though I fell on my face the first few times I did it and paid thousands of dollars. I don't recommend it for all the clients I see. I customize for each one. Having said this-why do I believe so strongly in it?

I believe especially for moderate to severe people who stutter, it is important to feel fluency fast and with support. The reason why I failed is because the first few programs I took didn't deal with emotions, fears and shame I had being a person who stutters. So for example, I came home almost 99% fluent, but had never raised my hand in school ( I was in college then). So I tried to talk in class. After all, I had the tools. So I raised my hand, and my fear shot to my larynx. I blocked. Ok, so in my mind, I failed. After all I had just taken this three week course and was told I should be fluent. Unfortunately, the negative experiences started to build again. I had one friend who stuttered who took the course with me. She is a SLP too. We both started having the same experiences and both crashed. How could this be. We are both bright, driven and ambitious people. Did we miss something? We reviewed all the mechanics and still were going downhill. To make a long story short, it took us about 15 years of going back and doing refreshers with various SLPs until we found a few who realized the power of uncovering layers of fear, guilt and shame. As a result, I think I know how to teach effective fluency skills with great results. What does that mean? It means that fluency strategies can only be taught with committment, hard work, sacrifices and support. One must practice often and daily, read what I have read myself and recommend on overcoming fear and increasing self esteem, talk to other people who stutter almost daily and never ever give up. I will provide you with support. I can promise you that! I can also tell you, your stuttering will decrease. How much? That will depend on how much you follow the program and how much you are willing to sacrifice to achieve fluency. I just figured out how to use YOU Tube-so watch for my clip. It can be done. I did it!! I did it the hard way, I hope I can help you do it with less frustration and increased satisfaction. tks again for taking the time to read thi

The Road Less Travelled

One of my favorite books is The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck. It is a great book for personal fulfillment and self growth as well as highly recommended reading. Let me know your thoughts on this or any other self help book you feel is worth recommending.

I also have always loved the title. I definitely took the road less travelled in my professional life. After being an accountant for five years and not feeling satisfied, I went back to school for my masters in speech pathology. How strange was that? I stuttered severely and couldn't even say my own name. I had been through speech therapy with fluency only lasting a few days. I hadn't even heard of the concept of acceptance at that time and was always hiding my stuttering. The word "stutter" would bring chills to my spine. I was petrifed about sounding different. However, I had a strong drive to help people and had witnessed my father work as a pharmacist despite his stuttering. I also have a wonderful friend who stutters who was completing her speech degree at that time. I have and continue to admire her courage as she failed public speaking twice due to her stuttering and never gave up. She is a speech pathologist today and continues to be my dear friend and someone I admire for her strength and courage.

I thought I would talk about acceptance and then recovery. I never know the right words to use. Is it recovery from stuttering? Is it overcoming stuttering? Not sure, but the important thing is the outcome. My stuttering was always like spinning a roulette wheel. You never knew what would come out. I would go through somewhat fluent periods and then it would come back full force. I didn't like the lack of control. My stuttering pattern changed often and I was truthfully exhausted thinking about it all the time. About 5 years ago, I started to feel like a failure. No one could understand why. After all, at that time, I was a speech pathologist for over 10 years, had two beautiful daughters and a supportive husband. However, I still was switching words, petrified of public speaking and embarrassed by my stuttering. So, slowly I decided to "come out" and not hide anymore. There was the acceptance piece but then I decided to strive towards "recovery" because I was still stuttering alot and felt so much tension in my larnyx. By that time, I had years of fluency shaping therapy behind me but little involving the cogntive aspects of stuttering. I wanted it all and wasn;t giving up until I found inner peace. Over the last 5 years, I read numerous self help books, got involved in the National Stuttering Association (great organization, www.westutter.org), started to use my fluency shaping tools and to my delight found they worked often. I had to practice and go for some additional speech therapy, but honestly practicing with others who used the same tools I did helped the most.

I can now pick up the phone without fear, go into a doctor's office and communicate, talk into a microphone and spread the word about stuttering treatment and work with wonderful clients who stutter. I still do stutter at times, but when I use my tools I am more fluent than not. I have no shame of stretching out a word or using an easy onset. It is so much better than stuttering. If I do stutter, I move on and don't beat myself up. This is what I can offer you as a speech therapist. I do recommend fluency shaping tools along with overcome feared situations. There is help available and I truly believe in therapy I provide. So, did I recover from stuttering, overcome stuttering or just find the right mix of what I feel works? Who knows what the right terminology is. What is important is what I have accomplished and what I have learned on this journey to help people who stutter become more fluent!! If that is your goal, it can be done!! Never give up!

What is Cluttering?

Cluttering is often confused with stuttering, but it is different. Cluttering is a speech and communication disorder. Listeners find cluttered speech difficult to understand. It is characterized by a rapid speaking rate, affected prosodic features, poor grammar, and disordered language patterns. It is considered a fluency disorder and characterized by an irregular. rapid speech rate. Help is available for this disorder. If you need additional information, please contact me.

Teens who Stutter

Hi-
I wanted to let everyone know about our next teen meeting (TWST) of the National Stuttering Association on Wed. July 15, 2009 at 7:30 pm in the Salzman Center at Hofstra University. Please e-mail me for more information Lori@allislandspeech.com or call 516-776-0184. This is a great place to meet others who stutter and/or practice your fluency tools.