Customer Reviews

The Pebble in the Shoe

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There has been a proliferation of books, tapes, seminars that address stress, anxiety, muscle tension, migrane headaches, TMJ and jaw problems, neck and back pains. If these area's are of interest or concern to you then John P. Streicher's book, The Pebble in the Shoe, should be at the top of your list. What is most meaningful for me is John's approach to "swallowing difficulties, speech and learning disorders and emotional dysfunction and how these are symtoms connected by a common cause". If you are a parent of a child with a speech or language disoder or an adult with a speech or language disorder this book is priceless. I have read Roberta Pierce's book concerning "Tongue Thurst" and Richard Barrett's "Oral Myofunctional Disoders" and John Streicher accurately states that "their therapy does not cure;it does not recondition the reflex system. It is another way of teaching individuals to control or override their habit conditioned speech and swallowing patterns". This book reminds me of the world renowned "Alexander Technique" developed by Frederick Matthias Alexander. John takes it a step further than Alexander by providing a "Vaccination", a therapy, he discovered. Like Alexander, John saw the need of finding the cause of a problem not just looking at the symtoms of the problem. Alexander stressed a process he called "inhibition- the ability to stop, to stop at the source, those harmful habits of thinking and doing from which most of us suffer". John discovered "that an oral habit causes problems by forcing the body to operate around it". But, "simply eliminating a habit would not bring the body back into balance. Someting was needed to recondition the system", according to John. This "reconditioning the system" is what the Alexander Technique lacks. John's Vaccination and subsequent Therapy is going to benefit so many people especially for those who have lost hope. Indivduals who have taken the inititive to seek professional speech therapy, for speech difficulty, are highly motivated. These individuals recognize that they have a problem and want to correct the problem by seeking the knowledge and expertise of a competent, qualified and experienced speech therapist. Unfortunately speech therapy has been and is still today "a sympton-chasing practice". "Speech pathologists describe an articulation pattern by listing what sounds are omitted, distorted, or substituted with other sounds. They are not trained to address causes". For those who have sought professional help for speech difficulties and have felt frustration, humiliation and failure even after years of "professional therapy", John Streicher's, The Pebble in the Shoe is a miraculous gift! The most profound affect for me was in the speech field but the therapy is applicable in the fields of education, dentistry, psychology, and medicine.

I strongly recommend Pebble in the Shoe to those with a personal or professional interest in Speech Therapy, Orthodontics, or TMJ problems. I also commend it to anyone who enjoys reading about new discoveries and achievements.

For me Streicher's therapy was a break-through in my search for help with my own speech difficulty (following adult Orthodontic treatment). It offers understanding and practical help after months of professional consultations and browsing the Internet in search of understanding of my particular problem.

Streicher's therapy is a totally natural, non-invasive way to treat speech, dental and jaw problems. It describes how we can allow nature to heal us and has given me hope that I can be cured without further Orthodontic or Dental work.

John Streicher's search for and discovery of a cure originated from realising his Aunt's difficulty in communicating. He describes her problems and his own struggle to have his theories accepted.

I found the book interesting, exciting, informative and sympathetic and I dearly wish there were professionals in my own country who practise Streicher's therapy.

Well what can I say. The author started talking about his secret thumb therapy and from then on kept repeating cases after cases, without achieving much. It was like reading an ad for a therapy which was never discussed. Even from a general medical interest standpoint the material has little to offer.

Buying the book was a waste of money, reading it was a waste of time.