Eastern Workshop attendees were contacted six months after their 5-day training to see how each of them is using their training in working with people who stutter. Here's what they had to say: 

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"It has been an eye opening experience for my clients when they start identifying their Negative Automatic Thoughts and the impact it has on their stuttering. The cognitive model is also used to address specific problems along with their fear and anxiety to break down the ineffective safety net they had previously created and develop an effective replacement.”

“I always start my therapy sessions with ‘What are your best hopes for today?’ which has been shown to be such a highly effective tool to address their needs.”

“The focus on positive behaviors and the use of ‘special times’ has provided the most frequent and positive feedback from parents of my preschoolers. It’s been such a pleasure to see the relief on their faces simply because they can now shift focus from stopping disfluency to examining the fluent times.”

“The way Parent Child Interactive Therapy is presented is exceptional--parents have told me time and time again how ‘special time’ not only helps to achieve fluent speech, but gives them the opportunity to feel the burden and worry lifted from their shoulders and revel in a truly special interaction with their child.”

“The Solution Focused Brief Therapy has given me a great way to find out what my clients have been doing since our last session to move themselves forward.  I really like how the questioning leads them to solutions.”

“I use the rating scale that the clients do by themselves all the time since it seems to give the client ownership on what they are or are not doing to move themselves forward.  The positive approach fits so well.”

“The best experience with the Parent Child Interactive Therapy has been with a young boy. The results have really been two-fold ... his fluency has stabilized and mom feels more confident about stuttering therapy. During the video process, several ‘lightbulb/aha’ moments occurred as we noticed what was working. The ability to work on one homework idea each week made the plan feel manageable to her.  When she identified ways to build his confidence, allowed him to problem solve situations without her interference, and learned to follow his lead in play, the fluency significantly increased. She also learned to talk openly about his fluency.”

“Helping parents learn how to take responsibility in helping their children learn is an incredibly valuable tool, as well as training the parents to focus on the things that are going right.”

“The parents had been so discouraged in previous attempts at therapy, and fully believed they were doing everything wrong. Their apparent confidence as parents grew remarkably through the time of our Solution Focused Therapy. They adore the special times with the child who stutters as well as with his brother. The child decreased stuttering considerably. He’s getting direct therapy now and his parents are continuing special times at home.  All are moving well toward their goals."

“What I have seen to be most effective in my use of Parent Child Interactive Therapy is how the parents are now feeling empowered rather than helpless by looking at what interaction strategies help their child to become more fluent. Integrating ‘descriptive praise’ and ‘special time’ have been effective tools for parents.”

“I find myself asking ‘And how would that make a difference?’ and ‘What else?’ in most of my conversations, including those with colleagues, student teachers and family members. It sure beats ‘Well, I think you should ... blah, blah, blah.’  I have a long way to go with this but am in happy mode about it all.”

Editor's note: Your donation helps to fund workshops like this one each year and in return hundreds of people who stutter are helped.