Did you ever meet someone and right away know that you’re on the same page in the way you think about something that’s important to you? Well, that’s what happened to me when I met John Harrison in Munich Germany in 1994 at the 1st International Fluency Association Conference. Over a delicious German beer, we talked about our ideas about stuttering and wow, we realized that we both came to the realization that stuttering isn’t really a speech problem at all. It’s just what happens when our speaking system isn’t allowed to function in its natural way.
John doesn’t even like to use the word “stuttering/stammering”. He calls the phenomenon “HOLDING BACK”. I still use the term “stuttering/stammering” but I agree that people who stutter do for a variety of subconscious reasons hold back from letting their natural system for speaking do its own thing.
Although John and I haven’t met for several years, we have stayed in touch and even did a webinar together. So, when he decided to edit a book of articles written by people who also see stuttering from the perspective of his well-known hexagon, I wanted to give him my support. Since then, I have been helping him to format and publish Strategies for Disabling the Stuttering Hexagon.
John’s first book Redefining Stuttering: What the Struggle to Speak Is Really All About, where he describes the Stuttering Hexagon has inspired so many people and helped so many make changes that lead to enjoyable speaking experiences.
Now, John has created a sequel. Strategies for Disabling the Stuttering Hexagon . All John’s work for the stuttering world has been voluntary, and this book is no different. Anyone can download it free here . If you have any interest in stuttering, as a person who stutters, a friend or family member of a person who stutters, or are a clinician who treats people who stutter or a researcher in the field, I highly recommend this book. Also, this book is still growing, so if you have a system perspective of stuttering, you can help this volume grow by sending new articles to John Harrison for review.
Let’s all join together to transform stuttering from one of the most perplexing problems into a well understood issue that doesn’t interfere with anyone’s ability to speak freely.