Saturday, January 09, 2010

What I accept or not.

I accept

1. I have a neurobiological abnormality affecting my speech systems leading to a propensity to stutter.
2. I  have to live with my abnormality for the rest of my life. (as far as we know today).
3. I have to work on myself if I want to improve my speech fluency.
4. I have to work on myself if I want to minimize the psychological and social consequences of stuttering.
4. shame, beliefs and most fears I held or experienced were completely unnecessary and harmful.
5. stuttering had some positive effect in that I was forced to take a deeper look at myself.
6. moderate to severe stuttering can be a burden to others who listen to me that I should minimize.
7. some jobs that strongly focus on fluent verbal expression are not for moderate or severe stutterers.

I do not accept

1. the way that I speak as desirable to myself or others.
2. stuttering is a gift.
3. stuttering is only a handicap if you perceive this to be a handicap.
4. the excuse of therapists that their therapy only failed because I/we did not try hard enough.
5. stuttering is a part of me that I should love, too.
6. people who stutter no matter how much they stutter cannot do jobs involving a lot of communication.
7. people who stutter are severely hindered by stuttering to have a successful life and career.

9 comments:

Ralph said...

Couldn't have said it better.

Jerome said...

I agree!

Mark B. said...

Hard for me to see anything I disagree with there.

Great minds think alike!

Harry said...

This
I accept...
7. some jobs that strongly focus on fluent verbal expression are not for moderate or severe stutterers.

...contradicts with this :
I do not accept...
6. people who stutter no matter how much they stutter cannot do jobs involving a lot of communication.

Otherwise, excellent!

Tom Weidig said...

It does not because communication is not the same as fluent verbal expression.

A bar tender might need good communication but can stutter. However, a news reader must have good fluency for his job.

Peter Louw said...

Dear Tom, this is my first comment on your site, which I love. It plays an important role. I also like what you accept and don't accept. Just one thing I'm not sure about - the neurobiological abnormality. Personally I suspect an inherited over-sensitivity to stress of the vocal fold muscles as the root cause of stuttering. Would you also categorise that under neurobiological abnormality? Kind regards.

Anonymous said...

This remark has been deleted.

Now I'm done.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Tom. Mind you, I am 68 years of age and it took me a long time to come the very same conclusions as you.

Sometimes I just feel 'stuttery'. No stress involved, no tiredness, maybe a feeling of mild depression. Some transient overload or underload of some chemical in the brain. Like a car with an intermittently faulty electrical system exhibiting more failure symptoms when water gets into the wiring.

Of course the basis is neurological. It seems absurd that we still question that fact.

E John Howley

Peter Louw said...

John, with all respects, I am not convinced. Stress is not always conscious, it can also be subconscious. On your stuttery days your base-level tension may in fact be higher than you think. Stress can be in your muscles without you being aware of it even if you don't feel tired. I am convinced that stress (in one of its many forms) and stuttering are closely related. Kind regards, Peter Louw