Seizing What Could Be
Moments of stuttering are ever present in my mind from over 20 years ago. The feelings, emotions, and aftershock of each still vibrate through my mind and body, usually outside of my control. These are the imprints of stuttering that have lasted, impeded my life, and those that I’ve focused on to smooth over their
Perhaps I have not read enough of the available academic research done on stuttering to date, or that which I have read has not been as accessible as Knowledge Without Action Means Nothing: Stakeholder Insights on the Behaviors that Constitute Positive Change for Adults Who Stutter conducted by Dr. Naomi Rodgers and Dr. Hope Gerlach-Houck. As I
The urgency to live life to its fullest, to do the most that we can with the time that we’re lucky enough to receive, seems more urgent to someone like myself who lives with stuttering. This is the case because as superb writer at The Atlantic John Hendrickson proclaims we who stutter live our lives on delay until we
Perspective Disclaimer I am not a speech-language pathologist, nor do I play one on the internet. There are many fantastic SLPs already doing wonderful work. This three-part series has already analyzed my journey through school-based speech therapy and unveiled a soul-cleansing repentance to the SLPs of my past. In this article, you will find that
It’s going to be one of the hardest conversations I will ever have. I already feel responsible for it without even knowing if it will come to fruition, but the likelihood is high. I have met many other people who stutter that have said, “oh, my uncle stutters” in response to the question as to
My son has experienced my stutter every day of his life. He has heard, seen, and felt it in all its glory, whether he knows what it is or not. I have never hidden it from him. When he was born, I made a vow to myself that stuttering will never stand in the way
At thirteen-years old, I attended a month long intensive fluency clinic to fix my severe stutter. If I didn’t do well, I would stutter forever. I didn’t do well. Fast forward eighteen years to a moment when I was answering questions as part of a talk I gave at the National Stuttering Association’s (NSA) annual conference. “Why do most people who
Unless someone tells you what it is you never feel it. It lingers in the background of your life, wearing down your resilience and leaves you unknowingly begging for mercy. Instead of acknowledging it, we numb our senses and bury its burden. It accumulates and compounds with each moment. It shapes who we are each day. It
With two face masks on, a blue dress shirt, and a red skinny tie, I sat before an 80-inch screen as at least 15 faces stared back at me. The faces—a mix of peers, supervisors, and senior executives—weren’t aware of the courage that it took to stutter through my ten-minute presentation. While I spoke, I
Every Waking Moment 