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From: Josh Holloman, University of Memphis
Date: 21 Oct 2004
Time: 16:51:47 -0500
Remote Name: 141.225.97.221
Talking about stuttering defeinitely helps. I was fortunate that my parents informed me at an early age, (approx. 6 or 7) that I stuttered. Since then, I was always open about it to my friends, and it eased the tension often caused by conversations. As I grew older, I would not offer that I was a stutterer upfront to people, unless I got to know them fairly well and knew that they would be a part of my life for more than just a fleeting instant. I feel that when I open up to people about my stuttering, it also relaxes them as a listener. Letting others know that you stutter allows them to focus more on the crux of the message, rather than "Why is this gut talking like this?" Most importantly, talking about your stuttering allows you to accept who you are. It is often said that the first sign of recovery is to admit that you have a problem. While I don't view stuttering as a "problem", in order to deal with it one must first accept it.