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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 17 Oct 2004
Time: 17:22:55 -0500
Remote Name: 24.1.53.111
Hi Jennifer, Thanks for your question. Back in my teenage years I was a moderate to severe stutterer. Today I'm still a moderate stutterer who has a VERY noticeable stutter but with few secondaries and very little struggle. ------------------- Your question relates very much to the stuttering iceberg. See my paper at http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad6/papers/hicks6.html for details of this. Covert stutterers can be very severe stutterers too, you just can't HEAR it. It's critical that you understand that covert stuttering is not just a point on the mild-moderate-severe scale. It's the total size of the iceberg that counts, not just how much is above and below the water line. Covert stutterers have very DENSE icebergs with very little noticeable stuttering above the waterline. On the other hand my stuttering always had a very large component ABOVE the waterline. Over the years my main progress has been below the waterline so now I have what I call a "styrofoam iceberg" with a significant of noticeable stuttering above the waterline but not much below. ------------------- Today I am a very confident speaker with very little psychological baggage beneath the waterline. I still stutter significantly but it's an easy open stutterer with no secondaries or avoidances. I lead a very fluent lifestyle, talking to anyone, anywhere, any time I want. And it feels really good, stuttering and all. However I am still extremely OVERT. Talk to me for ten seconds and you'll have no doubt that I stutter! I couldn't pass for fluent if my life depended on it! ------------------- Good question, Jennifer. I hope you're enjoying the conference. ------------------- Russ, RussHicks@mail.com, Dallas, Texas, 972-881-1451 home, 972-489-6169 cell, My home page: http://www.RussHicks.com NSA home page: http://www.WeStutter.org