New Job and New Horizons....

It's been a while. Sorry guys! So, new topic .... Speech Therapy. And it's not quite what you think. I am not TAKING or IN Speech Therapy, rather I am giving/doing Speech Therapy! I am currently employed as a Speech Language Assistant at a public elementary school and a catholic elementary school in my hometown. I started work last Wednesday, August 24th. Everyone seems nice and welcoming so far at my school and out of all the SLPs I have met so far (Speech Language Pathologists).

I am currently looking over IEPs (Individualized Education Plans), the child's case history form, so to speak, and trying to make a schedule of when I should pull out the kids from their classrooms, and which ones I should group together based on age and disability.

So, I've been doing a lot of reading and writing (summarizing their speech and language goals for the year), and I feel so professional!

I am so proud and happy to have this job. I am also very blessed. I give all the credit to my Higher Power, God, because none of this would have happened without Him. None!

I am making really good money and I have good hours - 8 am-3:30pm.

But one little story I wanna share with you is, when I met the school psychologist, I was a little put off by his response to the way I said my name. When I introduced myself to him and said, "Hi, I'm Ch-ch-ch-christine," he responded, "I can see why are you doing this job."  ..... Excuse me?!!! And you are a psychologist, ... shouldn't you have sympathy and understanding of those with disabilities? Hmm... just curious.

But, despite that little speedbump, all is well, I like my job so far, and I can't wait to start seeing little kiddos!!!

Thanks for reading! Good day to you.

Can a PWS recover from stuttering?

I have talked to a few PWS about recovering from stuttering. I once read about a man who called himself a recovered or recovering stutterer. Then, in an interview with Pam Mertz, a wonderful lady who stutters herself and has her own blog, when she asked me why I got into Speech Language Pathology, I told her I wanted to help children or adults who stutter accept and recover from their stuttering. She then asked me what I meant by "recover," and I told her that I think one can recover from stuttering by coming to the point in their lives where they can accept their stutter and who they are as a person who stutters. Later, in a skype chat with fellow PWS, one man told me that in the medical field "recover" refers to the state of being that one has overcome or regained full functioning or even was cured from a disease or disability that was inflicting them. Thus, he concluded that since there is no cure for stuttering, a PWS cannot recover from stuttering. This fellow PWS made a good point, and I am beginning to reconsider my thoughts on this topic. What does the term "recover" really mean? Does it mean that you become fluent? Or could it just mean that you have come to the state of mind that you completely accept yourself and your stutter and are thus able to better manage your stutter, your behaviors, thoughts, and emotions?
I welcome any comments on this topic, as I am very interested in it.
Until next time.... Thanks!