Tools for Taking Stock

The Taking Stock resources were developed by Ken St. Louis as a companion to Living with Stuttering: Stories, Basics, Resources, and Hope. As he discusses in Living with Stuttering, St. Louis believes in the positive therapeutic potential of a stutterer "taking stock" from time to time.

These materials can be used for evaluation or therapy with a Speech-Language Pathologist or for self-study in groups or individually. As a pre-evaluation exercise, clients can complete the Taking Stock activities on their own and then share them with their clinician.

The resources — individually tailored to the needs of both children and adults — include the following:

For Adults

• St. Louis Inventory of Life Perspectives (SL-ILP-S)—Provides a simple way for adults who stutter to take a quick look at what currently bothers them about their stuttering, and at how important stuttering is in their lives compared to other concerns. The ratings serve as benchmarks to compare ongoing progress in dealing with their stuttering.

• St. Louis Inventory of Life Perspectives and Stuttering/Recollections (SL-ILP-S/R)—Asks the same questions as above, but for a time in the past. It is recommended that an adult who stutters complete two SL-ILP-S/Rs: first, a recollection of how he or she would have filled it out at age ten, and second, when in high school.

• SL-ILP-S Summary Scoring Sheet—After completing each of the above versions, ratings are transferred to this sheet which allows for summary assessments in three areas: the stuttering and its effect on one's life; one's interest in others who stutter; and one's health and life satisfaction.

For Children

• St. Louis Inventory of Life Perspectives and Stuttering/Child (SL-ILP-S/C)—Asks similar questions as the SL-ILP-S but is written so a parent or guardian provides opinions on the child's stuttering. The ratings serve as benchmarks to evaluate ongoing progress. Compatible with the SL-ILP-S/R and with the SL-ILP-S Summary Scoring Sheet.

For Adults and Children

• Story Worksheet—Stutterers are invited to try to simply talk or write about any experiences, thoughts, or feelings that this worksheet's partial sentences bring to mind. A list of "trigger statements" provides starting points for telling one's story of stuttering. Stories are often the basis for renewed hope and significant gains in the future. Sample: "As a child, my speech was …"

Purchasing information
	View a sample of the Life Perspectives Questionnaires (PDF format). The file, which is about 140 kilobytes in size, should ideally take about thirty-five seconds to download over the typical dial-up connection and will open in a new window.
	If you need to download and install Adobe's free "Acrobat Reader" software, you can download it here. The link will open in a new window.
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