International Stammering Awareness Day 2009

Dear Reader,

International Stammering Awareness Day (ISAD) is on 22nd October every year. Stammering associations, individuals and groups around the world organise events to mark the day and to raise awareness of stammering.

Stammering is a complicated problem which can be very distressing for children and their families, on top of this, there is a real lack of understanding amongst people who have no personal experience of stammering. While many people are very thoughtful and helpful, and try to do the right thing, at other times people who stammer can be faced with people who are prejudiced or are intolerant of people with communication delays.

In 2008, Speechmark published Practical Intervention for Early Childhood Stammering, the Palin PCI Approach; Michael Palin is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter, best known for being a member of Monty Python and for his travel documentaries. Michael has personal experience of stammering and say's...

"Anyone who knows what it is to stammer either personally or, as in my case, through a loved one's experience, will know the effect it can have on a life. To know what you want to say and be unable to say it is almost intolerably frustrating. All the patience in the world cannot prevent it affecting the self-confidence and self-esteem. Much of the problem stems from public ignorance of stammering and stammerers."
Michael Palin - StammeringCentre.org

Practical Intervention for
Early Childhood Stammering

Palin PCI Approach

By Elaine Kelman & Alison Nicholas

Therapy for young children who stammer is now high priority, with growing research evidence supporting early intervention. This manual from The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children (MPC) is a detailed, step-by-step guide intended to support general and specialist speech and language therapists in developing their confidence and skills in working with this age group.

The manual is based on a strong theoretical framework which explains the factors contributing to the onset and development of stammering and describes recent research findings regarding the nature of stammering in this age group.

It provides a comprehensive guide to the assessment process and helps to identify which children are likely to recover naturally and which are at risk of developing a persistent stammering problem.

The therapy approach has been successfully tried and tested at the Michael Palin Centre, and the manual provides detailed descriptions of the therapy process.

It also includes a supporting CD-Rom and photocopiable resources such as assessment and therapy forms and parents' handouts.

The MPC approach is a combination of indirect therapy methods. The indirect therapy component is aimed at helping parents through the use of video feedback, to identify interaction strategies that support their child's fluency and enhance it in the home environment.

In addition the approach addresses other concerns, for example, in relation to confidence building, dealing with sensitive children, and establishing clear structures and boundaries to enhance family relationships.

For children at increased risk of persistence, the manual incorporates a direct therapy programme which involves teaching the child strategies for developing fluency.

This manual disseminates the MPC's specialist therapy knowledge and research findings, and is an invaluable guide for all speech and language therapists and students working with stammering.

Click here to read a full review

Contents

• Introduction
• Initial Screening
• Advice and Monitoring
• Full Assessment
• Formulation
• Interaction Strategies
• Family Strategies
• Child Strategies
• Other Strategies
• Adapting Palin PCI
• What Parents say about Palin PCI and Summary
• Appendices
• Resources
• References
• Index

Click here to order your copy of
Practical Intervention for Early Childhood Stammering for £41.99

About the Authors

Elaine Kelman and Alison Nicholas are expert speech and language therapists at the Michael Palin Centre (MPC).

They have worked in the field of stammering for many years, contributing to the development of the various therapy programmes for children who stammer, particularly the management of early childhood stammering.

They have both led and contributed to a range of publications and have participated in the Centre's national and international training programme, which includes developing the evidence base of therapy for early stammering.

 

The British Stammering Association

The British Stammering Association have published a full review of Practical Intervention for Early Childhood Stammering Palin PCI Approach on their web site. The review is written by Jackie Turnbull, Speech and Language Therapist, NHS Leeds.

They also have information for teachers, adults, school children, SLT's and employers. They provide a helpline and lots of information for self-help and events.

The Michael Palin Centre

As well as clinical work with children and adults who stammer, The Michael Palin Centre offers courses and workshops for SLT's. The courses run from 9.15am until 4.45pm each day.

For further details on these, please click here.

Stammer Awareness

Stammer Awareness have lots of information about stammering, including help sheets covering issues like what to do when someone is stammering, what not to do when someone is stammering, what you should do if you have a stammer, and advice for stammerers in difficult situations. These could be used as hand outs.

They have links to courses, charities and competitions, a newsletter subscription and much more...