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From: Terry Dartnall
Date: 10/23/03
Time: 2:43:39 AM
Remote Name: 132.234.251.213
Hi Amber
I would have thought that you could only “go into hiding” if your stammer wasn’t very severe, or if it was fairly local, as mine is (I have problems with some words, but not with others). I think that what characterises coverts is that they can get by pretty well and pass as fluent most of the time. I wouldn’t call someone with a bad stammer who just refuses to try to talk a “covert” stammerer.
“Do you feel there is any reason behind why you are a person who stutters covertly versus overtly? In general, do you feel there are certain factors that influence whether a person stutters covertly or overtly?”
Nice questions. My guess is – ability and fear. The ability to get by pretty well, plus a fear of openly stammering. (I imagine that the real psychology – all the ongoing inner turmoil – is pretty darned complicated. We need someone like Proust, or possibly even D H Lawrence without the weird bits, to articulate it for us.)
I’ve tried to explain a few times in the thread how it all started. Here’s what I wrote to Jessica a few minutes ago:
“Here’s how I think it started. I didn’t meet my father until I was two and a half. He’d been a regimental sergeant major chasing people around India and Burma, and shouting at them. When he came back he found this slow little boy who didn’t speak very well, and who was slow at everything else as well. He told me (many years later) that this drove him absolutely crazy. In many ways he was a very sweet man, but he was incredibly energetic, with a very loud voice. He used to say, “I’ll shout at you!” when I was naughty.
I suspect that that’s when it started. I probably felt pressured and panic stricken. Our youngest son was also a slow talker. We gave him plenty of time and everything turned out absolutely fine. By the way, I don’t blame my father. He was a kind, caring man (with a big voice).”
Bye
Terry
PS I’ve just read that through and think I should add a qualification. I’ve been listening and lurking a lot on Cathy Olish’s Covert Stutterers list, and I’ve been really surprised to hear how severe some stutterers are, who call themselves “coverts.” Some say they’re covert some of the time and overt some of the time, which I find surprising. We need a basic taxonomy (some basic classifications) that’s as free of theoretical assumptions as possible – something like the famous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.