StutterTalk has published more than 700 free, weekly podcasts on stuttering since 2007. StutterTalk is dedicated to supporting people who stutter, their families, professionals, students, and the general public by talking openly about stuttering and by providing information about stuttering. We address the loneliness and isolation of stuttering by talking about it.
https://stuttertalk.com
Should Speech-Language Pathologists Treat People Who Stutter? (Part Six with Dr. Bob Quesal, Ep. 634)
Robert Quesal, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Bob “the Expert” Quesal joins Peter Reitzes to discuss if speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should continue to evaluate and treat people who stutter. This is episode six in a series on the topic.
Dr. Quesalshares his huge disappointment in how the field of speech-language pathology trains SLPs to understand and treat stuttering. Dr. Quesal states, “The reason we are in the mess we are in right now is because ASHA has been involved”, “I have been appalled by the number of well educated SLPs who don’t understand stuttering at all” and “We can lobby ASHA until we are blue in the face, but ASHA has demonstrated over the last 30 years that they don’t care about stuttering – they don’t care about people who stutter.”
Bob and Peter agree that the scope of practice in speech-language pathology should be changed to exclude “general practitioners” from working with people who stutter until they achieve advanced training and certification in stuttering.
Robert Quesal, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a professor emeritus of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Illinois University, a person who stutters, a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a retired Board Certified Specialist in Fluency and Fluency Disorders.