Clinical Management of Stuttering in Older Children and Adults

Rating:
Summary: A retired clinican shares his techniques
Review: I liked this volume very much. Hamm is a retired speech-language pathologist who specialized in the treatment of stuttering. This book tells the therapist exactly WHAT to do with his stuttering clients. Too many books on the subject spend too much time on theory and offer little practical information. Not Hamm. As I am determined to read everything ever written on the subject of stuttering, I was delighted to read a book by someone willing to share their techniques and who also could present his information in a clear and sometimes humourous way. Hamm, by the way, has a killer wit. Example: he wonders if the push for "person-first" terminology (ex: "stutterers" become "persons who sometimes stutter") should be naturally extended to clinicians, who, perhaps, should no longer be called "speech therapists" but "persons who sometimes practice speech-language pathology as a profession". There is a lot of common sense in this volume, and more techniques and tips than you ever thought existed. Some of it may be dated (most therapists today opt for a combination of stuttering modification and fluency shaping) but this is a great read for anyone interested in this subject. It will also give you a good deal of insight as to what exactly master clinicans have been doing all of these years. For those wanting to specialize in fluency disorders, this is a keeper.