# Speech-Language Pathology/Stuttering/How to Participate in this Wikibook

Think of the difference between a textbook and a self-help book. A textbook is descriptive. Generally established facts and theories are presented from an unbiased, neutral point of view. Facts are referenced to published sources, preferably from peer-reviewed journals. Textbooks are written in the third person. This Wikibook is based on a large foundation of descriptive material.
In contrast, self-help books are prescriptive. Such books tell you what to do. They also critique established theories, and present new ideas or untested hypotheses. All this can be done in this Wikibook, but please follow some guidelines so that readers don't confuse descriptive and prescriptive material.

## Discussion Pages

Every page of this Wikibook has an associated discussion page. Just click on the link "Discuss this page."
Discussion pages are for asking questions, critiquing ideas or material, contributing personal experiences, or contributing new ideas or untested hypotheses. Please sign your contributions to the discussion pages.
You can see whether there's anything on a discussion page by the color of the link. if the link "Discuss this page" is red, then the discussion page is blank. But if the link is blue or purple, there's a material on the discussion page.

## Signing Your Contribution

Almost anything you add to this Wikibook should either have a footnote reference to a published source, or you should sign your name as the contributor. To sign your name, first log in. Then at the end of your contributed material type two dashes and four tildes (--~~~~).

## Prescriptive Material, or "Tell Me What To Do!"

Try to make your contributions descriptive, not prescriptive. Describe how a certain therapy is practiced, and how effective it is. Don't tell readers what therapy they should do. Tell readers about a good job interview you had, not what they should do in job interviews.
Many people find it easier to write in the second person, as if they were talking to a friend or client. If this gets your thoughts on paper, then do it. But then come back later and try to change into the third person. Or if you see material someone else wrote in the second person, you can try to change it into the third person.
One chapter is purely prescriptive, and it's not where you'd expect prescriptive material. The section "Scientific Research" ends with the chapter Research I'd Like to See, in which you can tell researchers what research they should do.

## Personal Experiences

Self-help books include personal experiences, and are often written in the first person. This wikibook has many areas for you to contribute personal experiences, including How We Treat Stuttering, What Worked for Me, and My Life in Stuttering.
To contribute a personal experience, either put it on a discussion page or add a section "Personal Experiences with…" at the end of any chapter.

## Critiques

Constructive criticism is a part of any growing field of knowledge. This wikibook includes areas for criticism, e.g., Critiques of Stuttering Modification Therapy.
To contribute a critique, either put it on a discussion page or add a section "Critiques of…" at the end of any chapter.
Don't write libelous or disparaging remarks. You may write factual statements ("Dr. Balderdash is 58 years old"), or your personal opinions and experiences ("Therapy with Dr. Balderdash was the worst experience of my life"), or ask questions ("Does Dr. Balderdash have rocks in her head?"). You may not write disparaging statements that appear to be factual ("Dr. Balderdash is the worst speech-language pathologist in the world.")
* Wikipedia article about libel and slander

## Temporary Comments

In a few places I injected a personal experience, critique, or untested hypothesis into descriptive material. I set off such paragraphs in italics by starting the paragraph with <i> and ending the paragraph with </i>. I also signed such paragraphs. Such paragraphs should be short—no more than one paragraph—and temporary. If you write such a paragraph, try to come back later and replace it with documented description, or move the paragraph to a discussion page. Do the same with such paragraphs you find written by other people, especially if the date is more than a few months old.--Thomas David Kehoe 21:08, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
    Note: Using <i> tags, or HTML tags in general is not recommended. Instead use two apostrophes ('') to italicize. AltoStev (discuss • contribs) 05:05, 13 December 2024 (UTC)

## Linking to Other Chapters or External Websites

In general, links in text should be to other Wikimedia, e.g., another chapter of this Wikibook, or to an article on Wikipedia. Links to any other websites should be in a separate section at the bottom of a chapter, entitled "External Links." However, this rule doesn't have to be followed.
Wikimedia links also start and end with double brackets, e.g.,
   [[Speech-Language Pathology/Stuttering/How to Participate in this Wikibook]]
links to this chapter. The location of a chapter is always in large, bold type at the top of the chapter.
Links to external websites starts and end with single brackets, e.g.,
   [http://www.stutteringhelp.org Stuttering Foundation of America] (http://www.stutteringhelp.org)
Put the website's URL in parantheses after the link so that readers who print out this book to read will get the links.

## Referencing Published Material

Adding footnote references is done in two parts. Next to the text, add
   {{ref|Author1995}}
Then at the end of chapter add
   # {{note|Author1995}}Author, Arthur. "The Art of Footnotes," Journal of References, July 1995, page 47.

## Other Text Formating Codes

* Instructions for writing and editing wikipages
You can also use the HTML computer language to format text.

## Stutterer or PWS?

Some people prefer to say "person who stutters" (PWS) instead of "stutterer." Either way is acceptable.
The term "consumer" can mean an adult stutterer, usually receiving speech therapy services, or a child who stutters, or the parent of a child who stutters.
Please use the term "speech-language pathologist" or SLP, or "speech and language therapist" not "speech pathologist," "speech therapist," or "pathologist."