StutterTalk.com: Talking about Stuttering: Recent Comments

Comment on Self-Advertising with the B Team (316)

StutterTalk — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:41:14 GMT

Eric,

Great to hear from you. Thanks for contacting StutterTalk.

It looks like our voicemail is not working. Feel free to contact us at stuttertalk@stuttertalk.com. The StutterTalk B Team can be contacted at bteam@stuttertalk.com. Also, we have a pretty active StutterTalk Facebook group where people often discuss topics covered on the show.

Take care and thanks again for writing us.

Peter

Comment on Self-Advertising with the B Team (316)

Eric Sprado — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:54:15 GMT

Do you folks still exist? Your answering machine is disconnected. I'm a stutterer who is an auctioneer,singer and front man in band,and make my living on the phone as a Realtor.I do belong to a stuttering support group in Eugene,Or. to try and be here for kids and folks who think they are limited in career choice or just need a listening ear..
Would like to have some contact with you.............. Eric Sprado

Comment on Dating a Stutterer (310)

Matt — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:14:42 GMT

I think this was possibly your best episode. I also think that it confirms a lot of difficulties stutterers face in dating for the stutterer as well as the significant other. It was informative though.

Comment on Predictions for 2012 with the Stuttering Brain (311)

will — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:08:00 GMT

StutterTalk should cover the TheIFA conference!If not I would do it!

Comment on Fluency Shaping and Stuttering with Dr. Joseph Klein (309)

Lori Melnitsky — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:25:05 GMT

I was glad to listen to this. I haven't heard fluency shaping described as this in many years. It might be the goals of some SLPs to encourage fluency every minute at all costs. I haven't seen a published survey so I can't say. I would hope that if a pws comes to a speech therapist and has a goal of improving fluency, their requests will be respected with realistic goals. We all travel our own journey when we stutter. I think it is important to treat each patient in a way that meets their needs. Sine want improved fluency while others want to stutter more easily. Others want both. I often feel it is best to not label fluency shaping vs stuttering mod. This leaves more flexibility to effectively help the pws without judgement. Tks for the episode. Happy holidays.

Comment on Stuttering and Accommodations with Philip Garber Jr. (304)

StutterTalk — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:29:03 GMT

Brian,

I approved this comment because I have heard other people bring up the very points you do. Having said that, let me point out a few things. You wrote, "holding your hand in the air for OVER AN HOUR, is a sign of deep disrespect and an obvious distraction for the other students." Mr. Garber and Professor Snyder agree on most of the facts, as reporter Richad Perez Pena said on StutterTalk. But they do not seem to agree about the hand raising aspect of this story.

You wrote, "Why......O why.... is this 'student' so much more important than the others? Why should he take important learning time away from the them, who have also paid their money to be there?" Another way to look at it is, why would Mr. Garber's right to participate be less important than anyone else's right to participate? Accommodating people who stutter is in its infancy. I am curious how accommodations pan out for people who stutter.

You wrote, "I've had classes with know-it-all students. Who want to 'answer every question'. NO ONE wants to hear their voices..." There does not seem to be any evidence that Mr. Garber wanted to answer every question.

Peter Reitzes
President and Host, StutterTalk

Comment on Stuttering and Accommodations with Philip Garber Jr. (304)

brian — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:09:36 GMT

I think it is a shame that a teacher who prepared this lecture so meticulously had to deal with this juvenile. Anyone who has an ounce of sense would know that holding your hand in the air for OVER AN HOUR, is a sign of deep disrespect and an obvious distraction for the other students. You know that after 5 minutes the whole classroom has seen your raised hand, so to keep it up for so long, is more to me like a silent tantrum. "hey, you not calling on me is just going to make me keep my hand in the air until it goes numb...so, take that!"

Why......O why.... is this 'student' so much more important than the others? Why should he take important learning time away from the them, who have also paid their money to be there?

I've had classes with know-it-all students. Who want to 'answer every question'. NO ONE wants to hear their voices, but themselves. We would all prefer to listen to the lecturer.

Just because someone stutters, it doesn't exclude them from being an [deleted by editor]

Comment on Stutterers Need to Be Empathetic Too (soapbox #2)

StutterTalk — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:22:55 GMT

Anonymous,

You bring up an interesting point. The hand up in class issue seems to be in dispute between Philip and his former professor. As the New York Times reporter said on StutterTalk last week, surprisingly little is in dispute between the professor and Philip.

My concern was empathizing with each side. I can't expect adjunct professors to be experts on stuttering, how to be sensitive to people who stutter and how to best accommodate students who stutter. But I can expect that professors are open to sitting down and talking. It is easy for me to say, "The professor should have been sensitive." I have met people who have finished my sentences for me and they believe, at first, that this is sensitive because they enable me to move on with my thoughts. I have met people who stutter who appreciate listeners finishing their sentences because it gets them off the hook or out of a block. A good buddy of mine completed my sentences for me until I explained to him why it was not helpful for me. I think the real test would have been - what would have happened after Philip and the professor sat down and talked about these issues? But we will never know because Philip did not meet with the professor. As I said during this soapbox, is it discrimination or the beginning of a conversation?

While the professor came across as very insensitive and uniformed, she also seemed open to working with Philip on this issue. If we don't talk to professors about stuttering when they ask us, how exactly do professors, universities and students work out accommodations?

Let me give a different perspective here. I have been a public school speech-language pathologist for more than a decade. Today I will be testing 4-5 students in state wide assessments as I did yesterday. These students receive testing accommodations and these testing accommodations are in writing and numerous people review these accommodations leading up to testing. And we still have to sit down and discuss how to implement the accommodations.Yesterday, I had to convene a quick mini conference of several special education providers during testing to figure out an accommodation issue. Even when accommodations are in writing we have to discuss how to carry out accommodations in the most accurate, thoughtful, empathetic and sensitive manner.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Peter Reitzes
President and Host, StutterTalk

Comment on Stutterers Need to Be Empathetic Too (soapbox #2)

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 01:03:53 GMT

I agree with everything you're saying, but you're leaving out the key issue that he had his hand up during lecture and he was not called on. I guess after that happened he just decided to switch classes and go around having to talk to the teacher. I don't think the email is really that relevant and her actions reveal here true intentions.

Comment on Stuttering and Accommodations with Philip Garber Jr. (304)

StutterTalk — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:46:03 GMT

Mark,

Thank you for your comments. This is such an interesting situation. To some extent, it seems that there are different ideas of who needs to be showing compassion. Some are calling for the professor to be more compassionate, some are calling for Philip to be more compassionate towards the professor, and some are calling for one another in the stuttering community to be more compassionate towards either the professor or Philip.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Peter Reitzes
President and Host, StutterTalk