First experience with a PWS
Hi! I am Allison. I am a SLP major from the University of Akron.
I was reading Michael Boyle’s paper: “Reflections on the Process of Looking at Stuttering” and I began to have a few questions for people who stutter (PWS). In the third paragraph of that paper Dr. Boyle mentions that “people who stutter can learn from the journeys of others to see that their own experience is not strange, but rather it is shared by many other people. With that realization, we see that we need not go on this journey alone”. I was curious if you could recall the moment you first had a conversation with another PWS and what it was like? What were the circumstances and did it change any of your opinions of stuttering or how you viewed your own situation?
Thank you very much for your time,
~Allison
Hi Allison
I think my paper in this conference is my reply to your question.
https://isad.live/isad-2020/papers-presented-by/stories-and-experiences-with-stuttering-by-pws/there-are-no-failures-just-life-lessons-anita-blom/
Stay safe and keep talking
Anita
Yes it is very beneficial for a person who stutters to meet others who stutter especially if they have a “stuttering problem”. By this I mean that many people who have a dysfluency will often say that they do not see themself as a person who stutters. They do not associate themself with stuttering in any way. They do not hold themself back in any way because of a speech dysfluency that others might point out to them. This type pf person may have a stutter but they do not have a “stuttering problem”. This type of person has no need to talk to others who stutter. Then there is the person who knows they have a “stuttering problem”. They most likely have never met another person who stutters and would initially be embarrassed to talk to such a person but when and if they do they come to learn that they are “not alone” in their struggle with stuttering. Then if they are confident to join a support group they gradually become more comfortable with their stutter finding out that 1% of the population stutters. I first met others who stutter when I did my intensive speech therapy course some 40 years ago. I went on to join a support group for people who stutter and have benefited greatly from my association with such a group. I believe it is the duty of any speech pathologist to recommend to any client who stutters that they look at associating with others who share their affliction by joining the local stuttering support group and also becoming comfortable with talking about their stuttering with other people for trying to hide it only holds it in place.