Stuttering treatments
For people who have fluent speech, it is hard to imagine what it
must be like for people who stutter.
Going through life with a speech impediment is quite difficult,
and at times the stutterer would appreciate a little more
compasion.
After overcoming a stutter myself, I asked some of my friends,
how they thought life was like, having a severe stutter. I had
quite a few different responses, some of which annoyed me.
Jim said: "I always thought that you felt a bit sorry for
yourself and you made out that your stutter was some huge
disasterous problem. It's not like you couldn't talk at all, is
it? I also felt at times that you lacked courage, for example
always asking Tony to order your drinks for you."
Paul then gave his opinion: "I found it quite funny that at
times you would be talking really well, but within a few minutes
you couldn't get a word out."
Ashley joined in: "I felt a bit sorry for you, seeing you
struggle, was quite painful to watch."- This was a better
comment!
Nigel, another friend: "I am glad that I don't stutter, but what
I think you needed to understand was that you were not the only
one with issues and problems. I am extremely impressed that you
have managed to overcome it though."
I was annoyed mostly by the comments from Jim, and responded:
"So you think to have a stutter is not that bad then Jim? OK, I
challenge you to go up to the bar and order a pint of lager, but
when you order it I want you to stutter on some of the words."
I showed him how I wanted him to say the order, when to stutter
etc. I then said: "After you have stuttered on the words, I want
you to see how it feels and to experience the way people look at
you. You may then understand a little bit more of what I went
through."
Jim declined this challenge, even after a severe amount of
prompting and teasing from different members of our group.
Having a stutter is not nice and when someone who has a stutter
seeks help, please offer them your full support.
Stephen Hill