Monday, July 6, 2009
National Stuttering Association Convention starts Thursday July 10
As the NSA convention begins on Thursday, I want to wish everyone presenting the best of luck. I am not able to make it this year, but will miss everyone. I hope to attend in 2010. Remember if you stutter, you are not alone!! www.westutter.org.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Lidcombe and Preschool Stuttering: Don't wait-Early Intervention is vital!
I would like to share with all of you a wonderful e-mail I received a few months ago from a parent of a beautiful and sweet young girl who stuttered at the age of 4 1/2. She is presently 6 and is stutter free!
(Please note: This was written by a parent for my blog for other parents to read. Also, I did not only use Lidcombe with this child. It was a modified approach as it was important to use other tools as well. This is why I developed the PACE approach with incorporates aspects of Lidcombe and other tools as needed for each child.)
My daughter was 4 and 1/2 when she started stuttering. It happened overnight. She not only possessed the verbal characteristics but physical (secondary behaviors) as well. Her mouth would be wide open and she would struggle with all her might to speak. She'd bend at the waist as if it would help her get the words out. Many times, she'd stop and say: "I'm tired, forget it." As a parent, it was heartbreaking, horrific, and shocking.
Thank God we were referred to Lori Melnitsky and decided to pursue the path of seeking a speech pathologist who SPECIALIZES in stuttering. I can't even comprehend where my daughter would be if we had gone to someone who didn't have Lori's expertise in this area. She is one of the most compassionate and empathetic people I know.
Lidcombe, to me, is a miracle. My daughter does NOT stutter anymore. I truly believe that it is because of the intense therapy she had utilizing and applying the Lidcombe method, in session with Lori and in our household. Lidcombe had to be learned by my daughter, my husband, and myself. Lori was patient but strict when it came to our commitment to helping our daughter overcome this. I am grateful for her guidance. It was a reality check. We weren't just dropping her off and leaving her in Lori's hands for an hour. This was something that had to be constantly addressed and applied. It was hard at first (who likes change?) but then easier because it became a part of everyday life.
I am confident that one of the reasons Lidcombe is such a successful therapy for young children is because it is simple in concept and the children are sponges at such young ages. My daughter is your typical 6 year old...she can't stop talking. But sometimes she bottlenecks her thoughts to her voice. And, it's crazy, but I see the Lidcombe therapy come into play. She slows down ("turtle talk", if you will) and collects her thoughts. It's amazing but NOT apparent to anyone around her (but me, of course). In fact, it's a shame that EVERYONE couldn't be taught Lidcombe at a young age, regardless of what challenges they have.
This is all opinion, I know. But my "ahhh moment" was when the elementary school speech therapist called me the second week of kindergarten. (My daughter was no longer eligible for speech services but considering the past year of being under Lori's care, the speech therapist was required to observe my daughter and update me accordingly. ) The speech therapist advised me that she and Lila's teacher could not believe that she had been treated for stuttering!! ! In fact, Lila's teacher said that she forgot that Lila came in as a child who had a recent IEP. I couldn't believe it! Lila's kindergarten teacher was in my CPSE meeting to get summer services approved just a couple of months before. (We did get summer services, by the way).
So, that's my experience. I know I've been long-winded but I'm just so grateful that Lori showed us how effective the therapy can be....if we were 100% a part of it.
(Please note: This was written by a parent for my blog for other parents to read. Also, I did not only use Lidcombe with this child. It was a modified approach as it was important to use other tools as well. This is why I developed the PACE approach with incorporates aspects of Lidcombe and other tools as needed for each child.)
My daughter was 4 and 1/2 when she started stuttering. It happened overnight. She not only possessed the verbal characteristics but physical (secondary behaviors) as well. Her mouth would be wide open and she would struggle with all her might to speak. She'd bend at the waist as if it would help her get the words out. Many times, she'd stop and say: "I'm tired, forget it." As a parent, it was heartbreaking, horrific, and shocking.
Thank God we were referred to Lori Melnitsky and decided to pursue the path of seeking a speech pathologist who SPECIALIZES in stuttering. I can't even comprehend where my daughter would be if we had gone to someone who didn't have Lori's expertise in this area. She is one of the most compassionate and empathetic people I know.
Lidcombe, to me, is a miracle. My daughter does NOT stutter anymore. I truly believe that it is because of the intense therapy she had utilizing and applying the Lidcombe method, in session with Lori and in our household. Lidcombe had to be learned by my daughter, my husband, and myself. Lori was patient but strict when it came to our commitment to helping our daughter overcome this. I am grateful for her guidance. It was a reality check. We weren't just dropping her off and leaving her in Lori's hands for an hour. This was something that had to be constantly addressed and applied. It was hard at first (who likes change?) but then easier because it became a part of everyday life.
I am confident that one of the reasons Lidcombe is such a successful therapy for young children is because it is simple in concept and the children are sponges at such young ages. My daughter is your typical 6 year old...she can't stop talking. But sometimes she bottlenecks her thoughts to her voice. And, it's crazy, but I see the Lidcombe therapy come into play. She slows down ("turtle talk", if you will) and collects her thoughts. It's amazing but NOT apparent to anyone around her (but me, of course). In fact, it's a shame that EVERYONE couldn't be taught Lidcombe at a young age, regardless of what challenges they have.
This is all opinion, I know. But my "ahhh moment" was when the elementary school speech therapist called me the second week of kindergarten. (My daughter was no longer eligible for speech services but considering the past year of being under Lori's care, the speech therapist was required to observe my daughter and update me accordingly. ) The speech therapist advised me that she and Lila's teacher could not believe that she had been treated for stuttering!! ! In fact, Lila's teacher said that she forgot that Lila came in as a child who had a recent IEP. I couldn't believe it! Lila's kindergarten teacher was in my CPSE meeting to get summer services approved just a couple of months before. (We did get summer services, by the way).
So, that's my experience. I know I've been long-winded but I'm just so grateful that Lori showed us how effective the therapy can be....if we were 100% a part of it.
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!
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!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My father stuttered and taught me how to fly!!!
Today I had lunch with my dad. It was a nice lunch. My parents spend half the year in Florida now and it is always difficult for me. I miss them alot and have always valued meeting my dad for lunch. I hadn't met him alone in a long time. Today I remembered how much his encouragement helped me deal with my stuttering. I had always heard stories of my dad stuttering severely when he was younger. He always said that his mother took him for speech therapy but the SLPs worked on articulation (difficulties with certain sounds). He says he never had articulation problems and never stuttered in speech therapy. I remember him stuttering every once in a while, but he worked as a pharmacist and I worked with him for years. I rarely heard him stutter. He said when he first started working, he had a difficult time talking to doctors. We rarely talked about stuttering. I remember when I would become fearful of looking for a summer job or talking in school, my father would say to just go for it and not worry about it. Sometimes it worked, other times not as much. He was and is a good role model. He stuttered (and I say that because I haven't heard him stutter in years) and didn't let it stop him. He encouraged me and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. So I say my father taught me how to fly and is one of the reasons I am able to help so many people who stutter!! You are my inspiration and I love you!!
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.
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.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
What is REBT? It was created by Albert Ellis in the 50's and is a form of psychotherapy. I have read alot about it (www.rebnetwork.org) and I think it can be applied to stuttering treatment. The goal of REBT is to change irrational beliefs into rational ones. I can't really do it justice in this short blog, but an example would be when I wouldn't talk on the phone with anyone present in the room. Why? because my fear was that if I stuttered and someone heard it I would feel like a failure. If I was alone and I stuttered, no one would know and I didn't have to admit the obvious. I was always looking for other people's approval. This belief led to anxiety, shame, guilt and an inability to use the fluency tools I had. Interestingly, when I stopped looking for the approval of others, my confidence increased as did my fluency. There is also a great book called, The Road Less Traveled which I highly recommend. There is also a new DVD out by the Stuttering Foundation of America (www.stutteringhelp.org) called "Tools for Success" A Cognitive Behavior Therapy Taster".
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