Which Therapist

 

TISA gets frequent inquiry about it. Here are our recommendations based on what we have learned from pws across the country.

A Speech therapist (aka Speech Language Pathologist, SLP) in a Government hospital or in a Social service institution- is our first recommendation. Most big government hospitals in big cities will most likely have one. ENT department of the hospital will most likely have information about speech therapists available in the area.

When deciding to go to a Speech therapist, find out whether she or he specializes in Fluency disorders (technical name for stammering) or not. Dont have expectations of a fast cure; this will put the therapist and you under un-necessary pressure. Be ready for a long term commitment to a demanding schedule. Clarify the schedule and the fee in advance.

Since TISA is a self help organization, we recommend the path of self-help to those, who can not access speech therapy for any reason, who tried it and are dissatisfied with the outcome, who believe that they can work best on their own, in fact anyone who wants to give it a try. Here is the self-help manual link.

In our present state of knowledge, there is no universal magical cure for stammering. This is because there seems to be many factors contributing to stammering in various combinations, at various points in our lives. In this scenario, many people have tried alternative paths to recovery (link), meaning achievement of good communication skills and high level of comfort with the act of speaking without help from speech therapy.

There is no way of predicting what is going to help whom, how soon etc. You are encouraged to “check out” yourself – and share your experiences! TISA recommends, among other things- Vipassana, Brahma Vidya (link), Meditation, Pranayam, blogging, self help groups (physical, phone or web based) classical vocal music, stage (role playing, acting), martial arts, adventure sports – anything which helps you to confront your fears, expand your comfort zone and social circle.

Finally, you may still ask: what about therapists in private practice? Our user survey has not come up with a positive feedback, so we dont recommend them as a group. There must be exceptions and we do extend our best wishes to them, wherever they may be working.

Finally, we wish to emphasize: YOU, the person who stammers, has every right to act in YOUR best interest, according to your best beliefs and knowledge. TISA supports that inalienable right of every pws. This policy is based on an internal survey and is only a recommendation, not mandatory in any way. If you wish to change this list of recommendations, share your experiences and stories of recovery with TISA!

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