Controlling a Stutter?: Examining and Defining Control

The notion of "controlling a stutter" has become somewhat controversial. It requires a deep dive now. We have to define the concept in order to eliminate the 'black and white' thinking that exists for some in the stuttering community. Who gets to tell a person who stutters or a troubled parent what is to be "controlled" or "not controlled?" Have you ever stuttered? Stuttering has two major parts: stuttered speech and anxiety/avoidance. Let's change control from a noun (i.e., command or dominate) to a verb (i.e., guide or manage). 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. The map is not the territtory- NLP presupposition. Be careful forcing your map on a person who stutters.