How we talk about stuttering matters
Mind your Ps and Qs is an English language expression meaning "mind your manners", "mind your language", "be on your best behaviour", "watch what you're doing".
- To our self.
- To others.
- How we talk about children who stutter.
- How children who stutter hear us talk about stuttering generally.
Action: helpful self talk to counter stereotypes.
- Gather evidence in real-life situations will lead to generating more balanced thoughts on the basis of their findings.
- People can identify helpful self-talk that will positively influence their emotional reaction and behaviour in a situation.
- Helpful self-talk can also be generated by reflecting on previous experiences that have gone well and what the person was saying to himself or herself at the time.
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For the Speech and Language Therapist
- Be aware of own thoughts, feelings and expectations around stuttering and our role as an SLT.
- Communication trumps fluency.
Action: helpful self talk.
- Handouts for teachers.
- Powerpoint for school presentation.
- Advice leaflet for parents (Generate discussion about what works in therapy and helpful versus unhelpful advice).
More information
Related files
More than two in five adolescents reported often keeping their stuttering secret and a further one in five said they sometimes kept it secret.
— Erickson & Block (2013)
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I wanted to be different, I just didn’t want the difference to be stuttering.
— Client
More than two in five adolescents reported often keeping their stuttering secret and a further one in five said they sometimes kept it secret.
— Erickson & Block (2013)
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I wanted to be different, I just didn’t want the difference to be stuttering.
— Client
Medical Model
- Deficit driven.
- Cure/fix.
- What needs to change (generally a behaviour in this instance speech.
- Who needs to change: the person attending therapy.
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Social model
- Impairment versus disability.
- Promote/enhance/facilitate.
- What needs to change?
- Who needs to change?
Medical Model
- Deficit driven.
- Cure/fix.
- What needs to change (generally a behaviour in this instance speech.
- Who needs to change: the person attending therapy.
<hr>
Social model
- Impairment versus disability.
- Promote/enhance/facilitate.
- What needs to change?
- Who needs to change?
The Questions we need to ask
Who needs to change? What do they/we need to change?
Acknowledging the natural variation, the unique skills, experiences and traits of neurodivergent children.
— Constantino (2018)
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Client who stutters
What do they understand about stuttering? And their stuttering in particular?
Cons for the Client
- Exposure: "I stutter".
- Risk of failure.
- Lack of acceptance by self and others .
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The Speech and Language Therapist
What do we understand about stuttering? Turn the tables on the process of normalising judgement As therapists we need to enquire into what a person thinks of the judgement they have been assigned. What if stuttering was the norm? If stuttering was cool…
Cons for the Therapist
- Exposing beliefs contrary to the medical model.
- Perceived risk of ‘failure’.
- Lack of acceptance by peers, clients and client's families.
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Who needs to change?
How do we do this? Is this our responsibility alone?
- Ourselves as SLTs
- Families.
- Parents.
- Teachers.
- Employers.
- School systems.
- Health services.
- Shop keepers.
The Questions we need to ask
Who needs to change? What do they/we need to change?
Acknowledging the natural variation, the unique skills, experiences and traits of neurodivergent children.
— Constantino (2018)
<hr>
Client who stutters
What do they understand about stuttering? And their stuttering in particular?
Cons for the Client
- Exposure: "I stutter".
- Risk of failure.
- Lack of acceptance by self and others .
<hr>
The Speech and Language Therapist
What do we understand about stuttering? Turn the tables on the process of normalising judgement As therapists we need to enquire into what a person thinks of the judgement they have been assigned. What if stuttering was the norm? If stuttering was cool…
Cons for the Therapist
- Exposing beliefs contrary to the medical model.
- Perceived risk of ‘failure’.
- Lack of acceptance by peers, clients and client's families.
<hr>
Who needs to change?
How do we do this? Is this our responsibility alone?
- Ourselves as SLTs
- Families.
- Parents.
- Teachers.
- Employers.
- School systems.
- Health services.
- Shop keepers.
We send a clear message of non acceptance (desire, ability, reasons and need). We become part of a perfectionist society rather than the ‘good enough’ society. We create a dichotomy of success/failure.
— Campbell (2019)
We send a clear message of non acceptance (desire, ability, reasons and need). We become part of a perfectionist society rather than the ‘good enough’ society. We create a dichotomy of success/failure.
— Campbell (2019)
- What kinds of ‘narratives’/voices do we want?
- Resistance to narratives of recovery/overcoming.
- Narratives of the non-linear, the messy, the entangled?
- What kinds of ‘narratives’/voices do we want?
- Resistance to narratives of recovery/overcoming.
- Narratives of the non-linear, the messy, the entangled?