Parents and speech therapists often connect with me
to provide feedback and insights into their own journeys after reading Voice Unearthed: Hope, Help, and a Wake-Up
Call for the Parents of Children Who Stutter.
With their permission I am sharing a number of their comments because
not only do they make me do a happy dance around my living room but I believe
their messages are of great value and can be helpful to others dealing with a
child who stutters. So here goes…
Lily Valley: This book
was a godsend for us. I shared it with my extended family, as well as a friend
who has a three year old having difficulty. A very heartfelt thank you to Dori.
I still feel as though we are in the dark ages in some respects, but was so
glad to read this, a true wake up call! It is a very easy read, her and Eli's
journey just pulls you along. I also shared it with a SLP
friend who received it well and said she would share it with her colleagues as
well.
Rachel
Lavin: I've got the book and it's great. It was a
real eye opener for me. My 10 year old son earlier this year attended a series
of 6 group toolbox type sessions where first they identified in each other
different types of blocks and difficulties as they heard them and then the
therapist explained how to deal with them. Increasing his awareness of his
stammer made his speech much worse and it took us 3 months to get back to where
we were prior (& he didn't use any of the techniques as he was too hung up
on trying to speak). For some children that type of therapy might be useful but
from reading your experience I could see very clearly what had happened with
Harry. I think all parents of children
with a stammer should read it.
Gunars
Neiders, PhD:
I just finished reading Voice Unearthed:
Hope, Help, and a Wake-Up-Call for the Parents of Children Who Stutter. If
people would take care to read this book, speech therapists would meet her
challenge and "support kids' growth and not add layers of guilt, shame,
anxiety, silence, and failure to a child's world." Then as adults they would
not have to read my book "From Stuttering to Fluency: How to Manage Your
Emotions and Live More Fully".
Simone
Greenfield: This is a
must read book for parents of young children who are confused and unsure about
speech therapy methods and approaches. My son is 6.5yo and has been stuttering
since the age of 3yo. His stutter is so mild at the moment that it's hard to
believe that only a few weeks ago he was gasping for air trying to get a word
out and we were desperate for any help. I can't thank Rachel Lavin enough for
telling me, a complete stranger, about this book. I thought I should share this
with you all. I would've done things differently to start with if I had read
this book before.
Suzanne Smith: I
agree with Simone completely, this book is a must read for parents of children
that stammer. My son Korben is 11 years now and has stammered since been 3yrs
old, but like Kerry's son he has periods of fluency, which can quickly turn to
periods where he really
struggles to get any words out & experiences facial grimacing-there seems
to be no apparent trigger. After reading this book I asked myself the same
questions- who struggles more Korben or me as a parent? The truth shocked the
hell out of me -Korben deals with his stammer, is frustration, is anxiety &
other peoples opinions! far better than me!! It's a real eye opener- I wish I'd
read it many moons ago.
Not
only I read it, but my husband, granny and grandad who are very close to my
son. We all felt the emotion you've described above and identified with the
author's experiences deeply. It hurt to know that what we were doing wasn't helping
the child at all and in fact it was harming despite our best intentions. I was
always a bit sceptical about the methods used in the therapies but thought they
were the experts not me. We should always trust our instincts.
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