Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Becoming a book reviewer

I have decided to do book reviews on stuttering. So if you have written a book on stuttering, be it research or treatment, please send me a copy and I will review the book. The first book that I will review is called Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy by Phillip J. Roberts: see here. But let me first read the book... :-)

In the mean time, here is a summary from the website:

Therapy for teenaged and adult stutterers

Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy is a stuttering therapy program that you can follow from your home and will enable you to effectively and durably control your stuttering by addressing every single element of the stuttering phenomenon.

Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy will teach you how to relax the muscles of your larynx as well as other techniques directly addressing the speech mechanism. These techniques alone can probably help you control your stuttering in the short run but are not sufficient to ensure you a long-lasting self-sustainable fluency. For this reason, Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy also includes exercises targeting the other aspects of the stuttering phenomenon.


A comprehensive approach

Stuttering is a complex condition involving much more than the disfluencies that non-stutterers notice. The bulk of the stuttering phenomenon is hidden. Stuttering affects the whole person. Stuttering includes destructive feelings, perception and emotions such as shame, embarrassment, guilt, low self-esteem, frustration and fear of particular speaking situations. The stuttering phenomenon also encompasses unusual behaviors such as irregular breathing patterns, eye contact avoidance and word substitutions.

Treating such a complex condition requires a comprehensive and holistic approach that addresses each and every aspect of the phenomenon. If one aspect of the stuttering phenomenon is left unchecked, the stutterer is very likely to relapse after a few weeks or months.


Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy is not a cure

Stuttering is not a disease and therefore cannot be cured. Stuttering is a condition that, with the help of adequate stuttering therapy, can be successfully treated and controlled. Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy, as its name implies, is a therapy and will help you control and eliminate stuttering.


Understanding stuttering

Comprehensive Stuttering Therapy provides in plain English the basic knowledge needed to be able to grasp the complexity of stuttering. Stuttering can be compared to an iceberg: 90% of the mass of an iceberg is hidden below the surface. Similarly, the bulk of the stuttering phenomenon is hidden. Non-stutterers are usually only aware of the disfluencies (the tip of the iceberg) and have no idea about what is going on 'below the surface'.

Stutterers know that stuttering means a lot more than disfluencies. Stuttering is a complex issue composed of many different elements: negative feelings and emotions, strange behaviors and misconceptions that affect every aspect of a person's life. You will learn how these different elements interact with your speech, reinforce your disfluencies and sabotage your efforts to become fluent. Stuttering obviously cannot be effectively and durably eliminated if these hidden elements are ignored. Effective stuttering therapy should consider and address the entire stuttering phenomenon.

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