Controlling a Stutter?: Examining and Defining Control

<p>The notion of &quot;controlling a stutter&quot; has become somewhat controversial. It requires a deep dive now. We have to define the concept in order to eliminate the &#39;black and white&#39; thinking that exists for some in the stuttering community. </p> <p>Who gets to tell a person who stutters or a troubled parent what is to be &quot;controlled&quot; or &quot;not controlled?&quot; Have you ever stuttered? </p> <p>Stuttering has two major parts: stuttered speech and anxiety/avoidance. Let&#39;s change control from a <em>noun</em> (i.e., command or dominate) to a <em>verb</em> (i.e., guide or manage). </p> <p> In my case, I was hung up on the phone for a decade- due to silent blocking. Did I want to manage my speech and my anxiety? Heck yes! I can now. If you stutter, you can evolve. You can dramatically reduce your anxiety and you can loosen your speech patterns over time.</p> <p> <strong>The map is not the territtory- NLP presupposition. Be careful forcing your map on a person who stutters. </strong> </p> <p> </p>