This Speech-Language Pathologist loved it!

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2011)

When I first heard about this movie I was nervous:
My internal monologue:
"Another movie showing an unrealistic portrayal of someone with a fluency disorder. I bet the Speech-Language Pathologist will 'cure' the stutter by the end of the movie. Parents and pediatricians will be calling me and other Speech-Language Pathologists thinking that we can cure their child's dysfluent speech in less time than it takes to watch the movie."
I was wrong.
While I'm grateful to nearly every film that portrays my profession in a realistic light (ex. Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Lionel Logue, the Speech-Language Pathologist was actually featured in the film.
Now I didn't love that he was using "unorthodox" methods to cure the stuttering (out of fear that people would think that SLP's were just making up these methods) I think it was made clear that Logue's methods are a far cry from what we practice today.
*SPOILER* As the movie was wrapping up, my fears that King George VI's stutter would be completely cured by Logue were unfounded. On the contrary, it was made clear to the audience that the King was able to learn some of Logues methods for reducing the stammer, but that this was still something he struggled with.
I thought the film was very realistic and has been embraced by the Speech-Language Pathology profession.
Enjoy! Jena
http://www.IndependentClinician.com