Stuttering: Successes and Failures in Therapy
from the Stuttering Foundation of America, publication No.6.

This text, originally written in 1968, has been reprinted in 1995 by popular demand. The book consists of a number of very well known speech and language therapists directing themselves to the question "What are personal behavioural characteristics that lead to success or failure in stuttering?". Each of these therapists describes two cases, one of whom they would describe as a success, the other as a failure. The case studies, of mainly adult clients, are written in an informal style highlighting the factors which the authors believed played a crucial part in determining the outcome. The authors give good insight into their own perceptions of the problems they encountered during therapy and how they attempted to resolve them, successfully or unsuccessfully. After the case histories were written the authors met to discuss the cases and, in so doing, were able to make interesting generalisations about therapy which are still as pertinent today as they were in 1968.

This text is unlike most other texts on stuttering: it does not attempt to be particularly didactic, yet the reader can learn so much by experiencing the thinking process and perceptions of these very experienced contributors. The authors give us "permission" to take a step with a client because if "feels right", though they also recognise the importance of objective data. The text is fascinating, easy to read and thought-provoking for all of us interested in the management of the stuttering client.

Reviewed by speech and language therapist Roberta Lees, Spring 1997 issue of 'Speaking Out'

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