See several articles by John Harrison on the Minnesota State University Mankato Web Site…
Understanding the Speech Block
John C. Harrison
At the heart of chronic stuttering — specifically, the kind of dysfluency that ties you up so you momentarily cannot utter a word — is something called a “speech block.” We have traditionally seen speech blocks as having a life of their own, mysterious and unexplainable. Speech blocks seem to “strike” us at odd moments, usually without our knowing why.
You’re standing in line at Macdonalds, about …
How I Recovered from Stuttering
A keynote speech by John C. Harrison to the Annual Meeting of the
British Stammering Association London, September 8, 2002
John C. Harrison
It is always a pleasure to come to my favorite city. Especially when I get to talk about my favorite topic. Stuttering had a big impact on my life, and I wrestled with it more or less for 30 years.
My stuttering was always very situational. Around …
Why Are Speech Blocks So Unpredictable
John C. Harrison
For years, I used to bite through pencils in frustration, trying to come up with some logical explanation for the seemingly capricious nature of speech blocks.
– Why do I have good days and bad days?
– Why do I sometimes block on words I usually can say without effort?
– Why does the feeling that I’m going to block seem to come out of the blue …
The Feelings of Fluency
John C. Harrison
What is it like to be fluent? What does it actually feel like? When those who stutter think about fluency, their focus is almost always on their speech, rather than on their feelings. They see fluency as simply an absence of blocking. They believe that once fluent, they will be exactly the same person they are now; only their speech will change.
But fluency goes far beyond …
