TRANSCRIPT OF A PRESENTATION, BY ALAN BADMINGTON, TO ...

Now that story is not humorous (I’ve plenty of those to tell you in the bar
later); it is intended to demonstrate just how the problem of stuttering has
been approached, in many quarters, throughout the years.
“Where the light is”, meaning that area around the mouth; The articulators,
the tongue, the vocal chords etc. Those parts from which speech is
emitted; those parts from which speech originates; and those parts upon
which speech therapists/pathologists (and others) have tended to
concentrate their efforts and attention. The area that appears to be the
source of the problem.
John Harrison understands stuttering not simply as a speech problem, but as
a system involving the entire person – an interactive system that is
composed of at least six essential components – physiological responses,
behaviours, emotions, perceptions, beliefs and intentions.
In order to facilitate explanation of his paradigm (or model), John Harrison
devised a six-sided diagram, which he refers to as the STUTTERING
HEXAGON.
In the brief time at my disposal this afternoon, I shall attempt to explain his
theories and, hopefully, demonstrate how they applied to my own personal
recovery from stuttering after more than half a century.
I should mention that, in his own workshops, John generally takes some
two days to cover this subject. I have just over an hour – so my efforts
will be somewhat abbreviated. (But if anyone wishes to remain until
Tuesday, I am sure I can oblige).
I think it might be a good idea if I show you a slide of the hexagon, so that
you may have better understanding of what I am attempting to explain.
(Reproduced as an Appendix to this transcript). Before someone questions
my ability to spell, I should explain that John has kindly allowed me to copy
it directly from his book – hence the American spelling of ‘Behavior’. As
you can see, it comprises six different components: