Average pws thinks that “Stammerers are more intelligent than normal people”!
But when it comes to therapy, this superior intelligence is nowhere to be seen. They not only spend over a lac of rupees on a workshop or a gadget, but also go around promoting their questionable choice in a country, where a family of three could happily survive on the same amount for a year. This intelligence again is not in sight, when they have a relapse after a few months: Instead of questioning therapy model or therapist competence, they end up saying: “Sir XYZ was really very good. But I failed to practice what he taught me.. etc.” Then, there are some who are convinced that they benefitted by blowing a conch shell or by loud repetition of a certain mantra- and want to teach that to TISA community! Following examples of malpractices are a living TRIBUTE to our higher intelligence! And the story goes on..

Under Nine Minutes!

Below, cure your stammering under 9 minutes! And they are still in business!

Customised packages

See below, someone is offering you customised packages for a suitable fee: 30 days, 20, 10, 5 and even 2 days. And if you are still stammering then, either you are very lazy or very poor! You decide.

PRIVACY!

Surely you dont want to go out of your home, seeking help – because Gupta uncle in the neighborhood, will ask you all about it. So, privacy is you big need- more than even Fluency! Well, you dont have to leave your home or talk to strangers at all- just lean back in the privacy of your bedroom (lock the door) and watch this DVD:

Crash in and Out!

Some more examples of our superior analytical prowess. How many types of stammering do you know? Don’t worry. Let there be a hundred types. Here is a One Window service for ALL kind of stammering- to be removed in two weeks. And if you or your child is still stammering, you who is to be blamed!

Taz Mahal

And finally here is the Taz Mahal, a monument dedicated to our superior intelligence! Since 2003, it is proclaimimg to educated, English speaking, progressive society of Mumbai and rest of India, that Indian pws are such cerebral intellectuals and live in such rarefied sky of self-serving truths, that they can be sold plain water (not even coffee or beer) for Rs 50 in large throngs… Appropriately enough, it appears in Economic times, because it must have given an upswing to Mr Prasad’s domestic economy in a mere one hour. And since he is a ex-stammerer (- he claims to-), who are we to object. May be we should be happy for him? Because money has remained with in the family, the community of stammerers? (PS: Not even our Nationalism revolted at Chinese water? ha ha..)

A little laugh at ourselves is OK. Let us do that and learn from our follies and move on.

Participation on equal footing: There is little hierarchy. We all are peer counselors. The groups may have functional roles like Coordinator, but these are rotated.
Experiential Learning: We accept a new idea (eg. “stammering is no big deal”) only when we have experienced it in ourselves, ie. by doing a stammering interview with a stranger. So practice is valued more than concepts.
Communication: We value the functional aspect of speaking more than the aesthetic aspect, ie. fluency. Character is more important than looks. End of the day, getting the meaning across is vital.
Community: Social connections and a self-regulated community based on a wholesome ideal, is the cornerstone of our approach.
New Frontiers: If looking at stammering as a diversity, and educating society towards that end, can make life easy for children and adults who stammer- as well as for therapists too, why should we not look at that bold idea? We dont want to throw away any idea just because it is not covered under latest journal of Communication Disorders.
Ethos of the land: Selfless service to others is the highest form of worship. One pws coaching another pws, therefore should never become subject of market forces or of self-promotion. Wisdom of the land also proclaims that the source of all perfection is within.

If stammering is a social issue (we dont stammer when alone)- the answer had to be found in SOCIAL settings – not in CLINICAL settings. We have closely observed many stammerers, in a large gathering – like our conferences; They are stammering, they are using no technique and STILL they are so HAPPY and seem so fulfilled! In fact, they appear to become someone totally different! What has changed? They just met a group, which accepted them as they ARE, not as they would be after one year, using this or that technique, gadget or “course”.

This alchemy works only in a group of people who share deep life experiences and are walking on the same journey. Of course, power of group therapy has been well known (link). But group therapy usually is led by a therapist. We did not wish to follow that path. Because “therapy” and all its under pinning, only strengthens the popular notion: something is wrong with you which only “expert” can fix. We were fed up of that line!

Turning to the wisdom of this land, we discovered that we suffer whenever we under-estimate ourselves. Ocean is in the drop. Wholeness and healing is inside us – not outside in some test-tube, petri dish or “technique”. The acceptance of who we are at THIS moment, awareness of the power within – all this and more, can unfold in RIGHT atmosphere, at the right moment. But you must take the first step. You must own the process of your recovery. You must invest into it- time, energy and commitment.

This question is important. Because till you have suffered enough, you will not engage with your own recovery sincerely. You will read pdfs, browse websites,  watch inspirational videos, share them in the group – but not take the one step which challenges your fear and your assumptions.  Ask this question to yourself, if nothing has helped you so far.

You can water a plant, but flowering happens only when it is ready. Till then, it needs nurture, caring and empathy. This is what our self help groups are meant to be. It is all about innate courage and taking responsibility for our own development. This naturally happens when you have suffered enough.

This Self is not to be attained by the weak…  (Mundak Upanishad. III. ii. 4)

Modern medicine has often rightly been criticized for chopping the elephant in to pieces, in order to study it, understand it. Also, it has narrowed down into super-specialized fields, forgetting about the broader context and the role of environment. No wonder that therapists have kept on trying to fix the stammerer despite relapses, rather than address her/his context, or environment. It is the society which needs “therapy” in our humble opinion! Stammering should be seen as a diversity. Not a disorder. Otherwise scams will continue as of now ( scam ).

Instead of focusing on the problems of ONE individual (huge as they may be), we are looking for a “system wide” solution; an approach which could help the entire community of people who stammer : This is the characteristic approach of Social Medicine- as opposed to a typical one to one doctor client scenario. Listening to many IPWS, we became aware that stammering was a social issue, which was medicalized (and “problematized”) by healthcare industry. In remote villages, stammering and many other disabilities (or diversity) are accepted as a matter of fact, in day to day life. Why? Because “the expert” has not arrived on the scene, yet.

So, if we want to move ahead, stammering has to be placed in a social context and seen in a functional (not aesthetics) framework. Primary purpose of speech is not to please others – but to get some job done. This is the arena of social sciences and psychology: groups, role plays, whatsapp, get-together, coaching, journal writing, Google hangout, taking out a rally, going to schools, spreading awareness etc. are going to be our tools of choice.
All this can change the victim mindset: I am a victim of circumstances beyond my control. I must wait for someone to rescue me. Instead, we can connect with others, make a bonfire of our crutches and dance around it! This is what we do through free communication workshops, get togethers, online coaching and peer counseling etc.

Nothing is free in the truest sense. People attending TISA events or workshops, spend lot of their time and resources. Registration fee often covers their board and lodge. Accounts are shared on line. No one in TISA gets paid or becomes rich! All of us are volunteers. We do respect and value money but also feel that offering selfless friendship to another human being is the best gift one can give to another – and is probably our strongest feature.
Why put a monetary value on this GIFT? Also, in this land, the highest knowledge – Self-realization, Yoga – was always given freely.  In present times too, there are modern saints who are happily offering their GIFT for free under open source movement. In any case, self-help for stammering does not involve open heart surgery or Chemotherapy for six month! The way TISA does it, it is very simple: like a little fine tuning of a robust engine!  So, why not free? Read more on this theme of how TISA’s work and approach is different from others: ISAD paper on Indian self-help experience.

At the end of the day, what matters is: did the listener understand? or not? THAT is an equal and mutual responsibility. Listener too should pay attention and ask questions. Speaker too, should focus on communication rather than worry about fluency. The communication is a two-way street and both parties are EQUALLY responsible for it’s success- not the stammerer alone. Communication is both the path and the destination of our day to day discourse. This is why, we emphasize listening, eye contact, smile and a lot of other skills instead of “how to talk better?”.

Communication is not exchange of words- but of meanings. That requires trust, asking for feedback, willingness to listen and understand each other’s point of view. Finally, fools argue, wise men discuss – ie. COMMUNICATE!

Dr Cristóbal Loriente made a ground breaking contribution by giving a new conceptual framework to view our problems: Transfluency (ISAD paper, JSTAR paper). Stammering is a different way of talking which transcends notions of Fluency and Disfluency – hence TRANS fluency. These limiting notions have been promoted by a socio-cultural norm, and a medical profession which could think of speech only in dichotomous terms: Fluent or Disfleunt.
He makes this claim based on two main observations: If stammering was really a medical disorder, speech therapy would have had BETTER success at treating it. Secondly: in last two centuries, with the rise of “Modern” medicine, many harmless / natural conditions were medicalised – like left handedness, sexual orientation etc. Essentially he is saying: Stop treating it; Think of it as a diversity; Accept people who stammer; let them also accept themselves and be OK – in a self help group.