Joyce Johnson wrote:
"Dr Ronald Webster at Hollins College in Roanoke Va is a world reknown
expert on stuttering and its treatment. ......His basic discovery was that
stutterers have a neuronal/ motoric delay in transmission of internal
feedback from the vibration of the vocal chords tothe inner ear. (That is
why stutterers don't stutter when they listen to delayed feedback).He
facilitates that transmission by an electronic device that sends the
feedback faster plus teaches a technique of gradual onset of speech sounds.
Gradual onset explains the curious finding that stutterers don't stutter
when they sing. The training, based on empirical research and learning
principles, takes 3 weeks and the combination of "device" plus training
"cures" over 90% of clients. It is amazing."
Funny you should mention Webster. I was on our University's Tenure & Promo
committee when a fellow from our Speech Pathology Dept. came up for
promotion. This fellow was a co-investigator with Webster, assessing the
efficacy of Webster's device. He and Webster had given collquia all over
the country on the technique. Unfortunately, when we asked to see evidence
of peer-reviewed articles on the clinical trials we were told that the
results had not been submitrted because of patent issues. This was 3-4
years ago so maybe something has been published thus far but until I see
peer reviewed articles and replications, I will remain skeptical.
I'm old enough to remember all the hoopla on the Feingold Diet for ADHD,
then the "too much sugar hypothesis." I remember when people were hailing
the finding that flourescent lights caused ADHD. I even remember the "tight
underwear" hypothesis. Stutteruing research seems to be similar in that
someone "finds the cause/treatment" about once every five years. I don't
mean to pick on ADHD or stuttering researchers. This happens with darn near
every common problematic condition. This week it's vitamins. Next week its
Eye Movement Desensitzation, Assisted Communication or primal scream. I
think it was Martin Gross in "The Psychological Society" who said that "no
new therapy is ever introduced without wild claims of fabulous successes
and no therapy is ever withdrawn because it failed to live up to those
claims." An overstatement, to be sure. But not completely off base. As
for Webster's anti-stuttering device, I'll wait for the peer-reviewed
controlled clinical trials.
BTW, the fellow who was involved in this research DID get promoted but it
was least more because of his outstanding contributions in other areas. I
do not in any way mean to demean a valued and respected colleague and I do
understand patent problems, etc. But it would be nice if they had better
proof.
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Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Office (610)436-2945
Professor and Chairperson Home (610)363-1939
Department of Psychology FAX (610)436-2846
West Chester University [EMAIL PROTECTED]
West Chester, PA 19383 www.wcupa.edu
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Husband, father, biopsychologist and bluegrass fiddler...........
not necessarily in order of importance. AAFOUF#0064
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