Content
Can't apply speech techniques Hey fellow stutterers, I'm turning 24 and graduated from college (English language teaching program) this month. As I am searching for jobs now, I started to take this problem of stuttering seriously. I received speech therapy back in 2013. It was based on Van Riper approach. First, my therapist got me desensitized. In some sessions, he made me confront my fear of being teased about my stuttering by getting me to call some places like movie theaters and intentionally stutter more. Thanks to this, I overcame this fear and became a more socially functioning individual who can take and make phone calls comfortably. Then, he taught me the pull-out technique, the English terminological name of which I have learned recently. The problem is I can't apply this technique later even though I can during and immediately after the session. I mean, my speech gets so worse due to the psychological factors that I can't apply the technique anymore. So, I have two questions. 1- Should I change my therapist in case some new developments occurred since 2013? Maybe, another therapist might be implementing more recent approaches/techniques. 2- Like every stutterer, mine ebbs and flows depending on my emotional state. I don't want to see my therapist whenever my speech worsens. What should I do? I ask this now because I am applying for teaching and other jobs that require English proficiency. I don't want to have problems with my employers when my stutter gets worse. When I was at the college, I didn't mind these ebbs and flows partly because I was desensitized a long time ago, but now that I'm entering into the business life I want to eliminate my speech problem once and for all.