The economy, insurance and stuttering therapy-Hope this helps!!

Hi all-
Hope it is warmer in your neck of the woods. It is freezing in NY. I have gotten over 10 calls for stuttering therapy in the last 3 weeks so I wanted to clarify a few things about insurance and options for effective and realistic fluency therapy.

First, please visit www.stutteringhelp.org (the stuttering foundation of america website) and click the link on insurance. This is very helpful and provides very useful information on stuttering for individuals and families.

First, stuttering for preschoolers might be covered by your local school district so contact them for an evaluation. Lidcombe is a wonderful and effective program. I modify it slightly and call it P.A.C.E. (please see www.allislandspeech.com). I highly recommend it. Even if your school district does not cover it, it is worth trying to eliminate such a devastating disorder during the preschool years.

The insurance ICD code for stuttering is 307.0. Many insurance companies don't cover stuttering therapy and I find more lately. Many times they will pay for the initial evaluation but not therapy. Why? I don't know the exact reasos except they don't consider it a medical expense. If you call your insurance company, don't just ask if they cover speech therapy. Often they will say yes for 30 visits. You must specifically ask if stuttering therapy is covered. Please get a contact name and someting in writing. If you call a speech provider and ask if they take insurance, it does NOT mean stutering is covered!!! Every plan is different. You can sometimes fight a rejection by appealing it but all this takes time.

So what does one do in a tough economy? First let me say if you are motivated or your child is we can always set up an initial 3 month trial and see if therapy helps. Once it works, it might be easier to pay for. Also, receipts can be submitted to flexible spending accounts. The other options are inquiring about group therapy of to reduce costs. In general the more you practice, the sooner you can go on maintenance. I have several teens and adults who are coming now once every two or three weeks on a maintenance schedule. They are maintaining a realistic amount of fluency and appear satisfied as are there parents. They talk to others weekly to increase opportunites for practice. Sign up for practice groups with my practice. Sign up on my facebook page, The Long Island Stuttering Connection and connect with others who stutter. (If you are under 18, please ask your parents before signing up). It is vital to go to a speech pathologist who specializes in stuttering therapy. (referral list www.stutteringhelp.org). In the end, it will save you money. I have many clients who have seen less experienced therapists before me and in the end have spent more money.

Remember, efffective communication is important and vital. Look for my open house in s few weeks on Long Island, NY to receive more information on stuttering and see a wonderful screeing on an adult who stutters. If you are out of state, think about coming in for an intensive weekend or via webcam. I am here to help all parents and people who stutter. Lidcombe for preschoolers can definitely be provided for international parents and children as well. It has worked well.  Also, don't assume that just because you or your child has received therapy before and it wasn't effective that there is no hope.  There is LOTS of it!!!

No one knows the pain of stuttering and having to put money aside for therapy or having a family member out of work. It is tough!! Let's try and work together so I can help you. Sometimes it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am here to tell you the light can be so bright!! A happy and healthy New Year to all and thank you for everyone who has been following my blog.  I welcome and appreciate all comments.

Stuttering Therapy on Long Island and Glee

Just curious what everyone thought of the glee episode where the girl pretended to stutter because she was shy and didn't want to make a speech in school? I would have preferred the show didn't use stuttering in this situation. I don't think it provided the public with stuttering education and knowledge. I welcome your opinions.

Also, there is a teen practice group next week. Hope all can attend. I am going to share a wonderful story of a teen who stutters entering college soon. A wonderful, inspiring story.

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.

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.

Stuttering Conference Online 2009

http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/conference/conference.html

I highly recommend the International Stuttering Awareness Online Conference

It can also be accessed through www.stutteringhomepage.com