stammering therapy – Page 2 – Redefining Stammering

A Greater Truth

31st January 202031st January 2020

Early into a new day we emerged from our tents, Just five as the rest were warmly asleep. The dark still persisted with a cold grasp, But we began walking beyond the reach of tall woods. We were young then, a brighter light shone within us, Guiding our invisible path to the clearing whilst chatting … read more…

Speech and language therapy and the social model: Out at sea and lost?

10th January 202031st December 2019

In the new book, ‘Stammering Pride and Prejudice: Difference not Defect’ (Campbell et al., 2019) Chris Constantino writes about the need for new narratives in stammering. He holds up the social model as a tool to help people think outside of the box, yet poignantly adds that the real challenge is that people who stutter … read more…

Stammering Pride & Prejudice Reviewed

17th December 201930th November 2019

Wanting some Christmas shopping inspiration? We thought we’d gather together a few early reflections on Stammering Pride and Prejudice to give people a taste for the book, and hopefully encourage one or two to buy it for themselves or a loved one this Christmas. In the UK and rest of Europe, the book is available … read more…

We need to talk about therapy for children who stammer: a new approach

1st November 201931st October 2019

In the previous blog post, ‘We need to talk about therapy for children who stammer’ (March, 2019) we argued against traditional, medical model practices which perceive stammering as un-natural or disordered, and focus on eradicating or diminishing stammering. We argued for a new, consistent approach to support children who stammer in their early years; one … read more…

Reflecting on the power behind language

2nd September 201931st July 2019

Working as a speech and language therapist for over 15 years, I had some awareness of the social model of disability, but it’s fair to say that most of my training taught me to view communication differences from a medical model perspective. There isn’t anything too unusual about this as a speech and language therapist. … read more…

Re-imagining adult stammering therapy

6th August 201930th June 2019

Last year, I went to a talk by Max Gattie on the therapies available to adults who stammer. Max listed the core approaches most people opt for: City Lit, NHS therapy, McGuire and Starfish. I realised, whilst looking at the whiteboard he wrote them on, that they are all informed to some extent by the … read more…

In the Face of Jargon

31st May 201930th April 2019

In Patrick Campbell’s previous blog, he talks about the “common language we hear in and around speech and language therapy” and the “language of childhood therapy.” As the parent of a now-23-year-old who stutters, I never questioned what a therapist meant when they talked of “speech therapy.” This is a topic now on my mind … read more…

We need to talk about therapy for children who stammer

29th April 201931st March 2019

Childhood stammering therapy has come under less scrutiny than adult stammering therapy from a social model perspective. In this blog, we want to look at how criticisms of the medical model, and the rise of the social model and neurodiversity, may challenge some clinical practices for childhood stammering therapy.

A Potted Glossary of Speech and Language Therapy

29th April 201928th February 2019

I believe one of the advantages of stammering is the intimate relationship with language it brings. Stammerers think, feel and speak language in a way that is at once broken but at the same time filled with opportunities. Blocking, repeating and word-swapping can all be seen as failures of communication, but they also open up avenues of speech that would in a fluent person go unexplored. Indeed, the multitude of authors who stammer – David Mitchell, John Updike, Lewis Carroll – evidence the unique apprenticeship in language offered by stammering.

It is with this in mind, the importance of words to people who stammer, that I want to begin to reflect on some of the common language we hear in and around speech and language therapy.

Questions of Consent in Stammering

29th April 201931st January 2019

As a doctor, I believe any medical therapy should begin with an agreement between the client and therapist to proceed down a track of therapy with full awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of the approach being taken, as well as alternatives options, without coercion. This process is formerly called voluntary informed consent and it is a cornerstone of good medical practice

Recently, I have been thinking about two issues that stammering pride and the social model pose around informed consent for stammering therapy.