Hope, Help, and a Wake – Up – Call for the Parents of Children Who Stutter
The primary message young children get in stuttering therapy is that they can and should manage their speech — in other words, try to not sutter — by utilizing speech tools and techniques. Is it possible that the anxiety this causes can create an even greater burden? Can that burden lead to excessive silence and disengagement — a far greater handicap than the stuttering itself? Through personal narrative and extensive research, Voice Unearthed answers these questions with a resounding “yes!” It also includes practical guidance that helps keep children talking, while minimizing everyone’s anxiety around communicating. Voice Unearthed frees us from the pointless, painful chore of counting speech errors and reminds us to keep our eyes on what truly matters. It’s also a wake-up call for parents, professionals, and the entire field of speech therapy — and a reminder to “first do no harm.”
This change our lives. My son is so much happier and now converses freely. The book changed our attitude. Even though we already ticked all the boxes of standard approach to talking with a preschooler who stutters, this book made us accept his voice for what it was, relax about it and just give him, time, space and freedom to learn his voice.
Enlightening to read as an SLP. It’s changed my practice immensely and helped me focus on the true handicap of stuttering instead of counting speaking errors. It’s also helped me reflect on the mixed messages SLP send kids when telling them: “There’s nothing wrong with your stuttering…BUUUUUUT…I’m going help you stop your stuttering.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. As a speech therapist and a parent of a stammering child going through therapy I read it with great interest. Doreen’s experiences and viewpoint resonated strongly with my own and it has helped me enormously with the decision about the next step for my own child.
The Impact of Childhood Intervention on Those Who Continue to Stutter
Approximately 20% of children who begin to stutter will continue into their teen years – with or without therapy. As of now, there is little to go on to predict which children will persist. How does intervention with the goal of fixing impact those who are not fixed (and who else do we really care about?). That was the question asked of 60 individuals, most who found that recovering from early intervention became a greater challenge than the stutter itself.
VoiceS Unearthed provides an essential perspective that sheds light on a safer, more effective way forward for parents and speech therapists.
This book will change lives! Parents of children who stutter talk about their own experiences. Thank you a million times, Dori Holte for this eye-opening book! Just as informative as your first!
Dori Holte takes an intelligent and empathic look at how stuttering has been historically treated. Sixty personal accounts are presented, raising the question of efficacy and long-term impacts. An important read for parents and adults who continue to stutter, about individual choices in therapy. Highly recommended.
This book is a must-read for any speech-language pathologist, teen or adult with a stutter, and parent of a person with a stutter. It clarifies and summarizes so many things you may have difficulty putting into words or knowing how to say, especially in a short amount of time that you may have during a meeting or therapy session. As a speech-language pathologist, I highly recommend this book!
This is incredibly important work. ‘VoiceS Unearthed’ is the wake-up call our field needs and of tremendous value to parents.
I’m a speech-language pathologist and I recommend this book to every single family of children who stutter that I meet. The author clearly explains why traditional stuttering therapy puts the child at risk of severe psychological problems later in life. If you are a parent of a child who stutters, you should read this book BEFORE looking for a speech therapist.
When we started out I didn’t know anything about stuttering or that there were different approaches. We just did what the therapist said. If parents don’t know what the options are, they’re not going to go looking for them.