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From: Anita
Date: 21 Oct 2004
Time: 14:50:57 -0500
Remote Name: 81.228.205.173
First I'd like to thank you for your interest in stuttering. We need more people like you! When I talk in schools the best way to reach out is to not directly raise the issue of stuttering, but to start asking what they are good at. The next round I ask them what they are less good at. Including teachers and myself. Than I ask them to realize we all are good at something and we all are not that good at something. And that's ok, for if one person is good at everything, that would make us feel inferior and he/she would not be a person you would like to be with. Because we're all good at something (even at "silly" things like cleaning your room, training the dog, be a hugging mom or good at football) we can help others. And because we're all not that good at something we can feel empathy with other people who are not so good at other things. It's all about acceptance. And because I stutter, that doesn't mean I cannot talk. I can say whatever i want to say (with a stutter), I can tell stories, I can tell jokes, I can sing, I can shout. Because you cannot run fast enough to win the Olympics, does that mean you cannot run? I think that speech training, together with understanding and self esteem building can help a student to believe in him/herself. Many people react the wrong way simply because they don't know what to do. Students (and teachers) who know more about stuttering will not tease as easily and will know what to do. If the student feels better about him/herself and realizes it's not their fault and therefor nothing to be ashamed of might get enough confidence to talk about it in class. Maybe even as an oral assignment? Than the pressure is off. They can also observe other students standing in front of the class and watch other people making a speech for example at a wedding and find out many people have a fear of speaking. Help the student to be open to the teacher, so that they can find a way that's ok and comfortable to both. I won't give any advice about speech training, as you're the expert there. But ask the student about his/her stuttering and what he/she wants help with, as they are the experts on their own stuttering! Thanks for your interest and good luck with your important work.