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From: Candace Webster
Date: 10/20/01
Time: 2:21:14 PM
Remote Name: 24.4.252.7
Phyllis,
My severity really depends upon what I am doing and how tired I am. Generally if I am engaged in normal conversation or even teaching, my speech is about 90% fluent. If I am reading aloud my fluency drops to about 50%. Thusly, I do not read aloud. I have been asked to read lessons in church (my husband is a pastor), but I simply won't. I don't lie about it either, I simply say: "I'm not comfortable doing that because I'm a stutterer." The other problem area is making phone calls. My fluency really isn't that bad, but I just hate doing it. But I do it. I have a special phone with amplification on it, so I can make necessary phone calls. As for how I handle blocks... I learned several ways (at Hollins College and ASU) that have helped me greatly over the years. 1) I use soft contact on hard consonants and 2) I use proper breathing, ie: taking a breath before speaking. Stutterers often run out of air, I know I do. I know I use other little "tricks", but those have become so much of a part of me and my speech, I can't really pinpoint them. And, who's to say I wouldn't use them anyway in a normal speech pattern. Also the one thing that helped me accept my stutterering is watching other people speak. NOBODY speaks perfectly! NOBODY! Okay, except in the movies. Why should I tell myself that I need to speak perfectly when normal speakers don't speak perfectly. They stumble and say "uh" or "mmmmm" too. I try to speak clearly. Period. That helped a great deal. Please contact me if I can help you in any other ways. Candace email: meyerswebster@home.com