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From: Erika Shira
Date: 19 Oct 2008
Time: 13:39:00 -0500
Remote Name: 66.92.76.147
"Have you personally seen different responses in those who have a severe stutter verses a more mild stutter?" This is a great question. I don't work in a way where I'd have an absolute way to measure this (i.e., I don't record people unless it's so they can hear how they sound, I don't time people's speech, etc.). There are pros and cons to both approaches of course, and I imagine that people self-select to an extent (some people would be freaked out by talking about feelings and playing drums, and other people would be freaked out by talking into a machine and seeing numbers come up). So my data is largely self-report and my observations. I've mentioned in other threads that some people's speed of speech improves noticeably, other people's doesn't improve at all but their reported comfort improves, and some people's quality of speech improves in that they sound like they're making thoughtful pauses rather than frantic or hesitant pauses. I think that probably people who have a more severe stutter (both in terms of how long it takes to say something and the quality of how awkward it sounds to the listener) show more improvement. I think the more subtle changes are harder to achieve. Or harder for the individual or therapist to notice. I'm not sure. What's your experience in speech therapy with who tends to make the biggest changes?