 About the Author:
My name is Conrad Gold and I am a person who stutters and have been a school speech/language therapist in Michigan and Minnesota for 30 years. I grew up on Long Island and went to college in Massachusetts. Moving to Minneapolis in 1981, I made significant progress toward making speaking easier at a weekly evening group for people who stutter at the University of Minnesota. More recently, wanting to make peace with my stuttering, I attended a virtual stuttering therapy group at Western Michigan University, first as a client and then as an instructor. I have lived with my family in northern Michigan for the past 25 years. Music has been a long-time hobby. |
An audio recording of a song called “I’ll Speak With Pride” written by Conrad Gold. The song describes a sense of pride in being a person who stutters. This year’s theme – One Size Does NOT Fit All – applies to two different periods within my own stuttering journey. In the 1980s, it was helpful for me to look at stuttering solely as a behavior that I could change. Then, returning to therapy as a client in 2021, I found it helpful to instead embrace stuttering’s organic/neurological basis and enjoy a steadily increasing sense of pride in what I have done in life as a person who stutters. To try to capture this feeling, I wrote the song “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I hope you enjoy it.
Conrad, your song is amazing! It seems to be a beautiful testament to the journey you have experienced. I love the line about being tired of trying to be anyone but you. Keep being you and best of luck on the rest of your journey!
Thank you so much for listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride” and for your kind words! It was nice to be able to combine songwriting with a topic that is personal and meaningful to me. All the best to you! Conrad
Hi Conrad,
I am thrilled for you that you “have never felt so free before”. Congratulations on your journey. Thanks very much for sharing your music with us.
Hanan
Hi Hanan,
Thank you for listening to my song and for your generous words. Reciprocal good wishes to you on your journey!
Best,
Conrad
Conrad,
What a beautiful and gentle way to express your journey. I specifically like the line “no more looking down and no more backing up”. It portrays so much confidence and yet also gives a juxtaposition that it hasn’t always been this way. In my class (SLP grad student), I am learning how stuttering is so much more than providing fluency strategies and that being a person who stutters affects the whole person. In turn, I want to learn how to be a clinician that provides person-centered therapy. Thank you for your submission, it was really enjoyable.
Hi Diana,
Thank you so much for listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride” and for your kind comments. It’s so heartening to me that you’re already developing plans for a person-centered approach to therapy while still in school. All the best to you as you start your career.
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad,
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful song. There is such joy that it radiates — in a sense, it feels like whoever sings the song would finally find peace and acceptance in their stutter after a long and arduous journey to get there. It tells a story — your story, your pride in your stutter. Thank you for providing us an insight into your journey of self-acceptance.
Hello,
Thank you so much for listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I know the word “journey” is used a lot these days, but it feels like a perfect fit when talking about a life with stuttering. Thanks again for your kind comments.
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad!
This is so amazing and I love the song! I was wondering what it feels like for you to go through these emotions while also understanding the other side of things as an SLP. I was wondering if you had any advice to me as an SLP who is going to encounter people like you!
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for listening! To answer your question, I think it has only been recently that I have truly felt that being a speech/language therapist who stutters is actually positive, in terms of understanding at a visceral level what it feels like to have communication challenges. As far as any advice…I still feel (from 40 years ago) the positive regard extended to me by the professor who facilitated a group for adults who stutter. Responding to the client you’re seeing in a positive way, seeing all the cool things about them, and recognizing their bravery in their speaking lives would all go a long way to making a person feel good about themselves. Hope that’s helpful.
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad,
Your song is very uplifting! The way you portray your thoughts and feelings through your music is beautiful. I love how you say you will say things in your own way, in your own time. As an SLP graduate student, I have learned about how time pressures have an increased effect on communication for people who stutter. I loved hearing about your journey through your music, and how you have come to feel free. Thank you for sharing!
-Katrina
Hi Katrina,
Thanks for listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I think you’ve really picked up on an important aspect of stuttering – laboring under time pressure. I think human listeners are so quick to pick up on differences, and communication is often such a rushed daily activity. This all adds to the phenomenon of people who stutter trying to be fluent and then forcing out sound (which never goes well). Anyhoo, thanks again for listening!
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad,
Your song had a strong impact on me with the emotion and pride it contains. The melody is beautiful and shows your joy of music. I am a graduate student clinician in my final year of the program and I appreciate the artistic content from creators such as yourself. I think you have highlighted your pride of where you are at now in your journey in an amazing way!
Hello,
Wow, thank you for your kind comments! I’m glad that you enjoyed the melody of the song and that the idea of pride came through to you in the song.
Best of luck to you as you finish up school and move into your career.
Thanks again!
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad
Your song made me smile, over the catchy music and over the uplifting lyrics. I wish we could collect more stuttering in arts, as there’s so much joy coming from finding alternative ways of communication and expressing what we feel and want to say. I hope your song will not stay here, but spread everywhere, as yes, it’s so beautiful and encourages us to speak with pride. What we say is worth repeating.
Happy ISAD and keep singing
Anita
Hi Anita,
First, thank you so much for accepting “I’ll Speak With Pride” into the ISAD 2023 Conference! It has been really fun to know that people are getting a chance to listen to the song.
And thank you for your kind comments; I truly appreciate them!
All the best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad!
I’m an SLP graduate student currently learning about stuttering. I enjoyed your song! We are learning about taking a person-centered, accepting approach to treatment, and I feel your song communicates everything we hope our clients will feel! I hope I can help clients feel empowered and “speak with pride” the way you sang about it. Thank you for your submission!
Em
Hi Em,
I’m so encouraged that you’re already getting a handle on a person-centered approach to stuttering. You’re definitely on a constructive path when you’re thinking about empowerment for people for whom speaking (typically) been a difficult road. Thanks for your thoughts.
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad!
I really liked your song! There is a great message behind it, and it is catchy! I love that you have embraced speaking in your own way! I love that you were able to take your musical talent and use it to spread such a needed message. I will definitely show my future clients your song if they are struggling to speak with pride.
Hi Katie,
Thanks for your comments! I’m glad you found “I’ll Speak With Pride” catchy; that’s one of the best things about music – the chance for lyrics to lodge in your head when they’re set to a melody. The best news is that you might use it with future clients! Thank you.
Best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad,
Thank you for sharing “I’ll Speak with Pride” with us. I love how you incorporated your experience into a song. It is powerful to hear that you have chosen to be you and in the process gained freedom. What a great lesson for all of us to learn. Thanks again for your song.
Brooke
Hi Brooke,
Thank you for taking the time to comment on “I’ll Speak With Pride.” While my process and progress have both been incremental, it has been rewarding, as you say, to finally feel that I can be no more than I am. Thanks for picking up that message from listening to the song.
All the best,
Conrad
Hi Conrad,
This is an amazing and creative way to share your journey with us all! I’m very happy to have heard it and the amount of emotion and happiness that we can hear in your voice put a smile on my face! As someone who grew up with a mild stutter, it is so nice to see you embracing your journey and to do it through a talent such as songwriting! If you don’t mind me asking one question, what has your experience with your stutter and the fluency you receive while singing been like?
Thank you again for your post,
Matthew
Hi Matthew,
Thank you so much for your kind words about “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I’m so glad that the song “reached” you. Like many other people who stutter, I’m fluent when I sing. There’s a different feeling when I sing compared to when I speak. As far as my current experience speaking, I’m usually speaking pretty easily, sometimes forcing sound out in my more difficult speaking situations. Thanks again for listening and making the effort to comment; I appreciate it!
Best,
Conrad
Mr. Conrad,
Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your song and really appreciated the meaning and message behind the lyrics. It is also a very catchy tune! I think it is extremely creative that you took your musical skills and wrote a song that I will definitely play during a session if I ever have a client who stutters!
Thank you,
Caroline
Hi Caroline,
Thank you so much for listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I appreciate your kind words and am glad that you enjoyed the lyrics and melody! It would make me proud if you played the song for any future clients who stutter.
All the best,
Conrad
Hi Mr. Conrad,
I love such an original song that talks about your experiences with stuttering. This is truly a testament to many others, and I would love to share this song to encourage others. Your song is a voice for so many individuals who stutter, simply by addressing the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects that you experience by saying, “No more looking down. No more backing up. No more switching what I’m thinking of.” This song speaks to others who may not stutter but are feeling ashamed or inadequate in other areas of their life and need to know they are not alone. Thank you for sharing your gift.
Hello,
Thank you so much for your close listening to “I’ll Speak With Pride.” I appreciate that you got what I was saying in the lyrics you mention. Please don’t hesitate to share the song with people who might benefit from a listen. You are right that stuttering does not have a unique lock on this feeling; we can only be who we really are (and we have a right to feel good about that).
All the best,
Conrad
Conrad,
Thank you for sharing this! I am a speech-language pathology graduate student currently studying fluency disorders. The content you create is essential for the stuttering community, and I cannot wait to share this with future clients who stutter. You will make them feel seen, heard, and represented.
Thank you so much for sharing.