larryjr88
04-20-2008, 08:20 AM
I finally brought my self to actually post something instead of hopelessly browsing stuttering information on the net for 10 years. Let me tell about myself a bit.
I'm a 20 year old college student in Tennessee. I was born in outside of LA and have stammered since I learned to talk. I say stammered because I personally feel a difference between the two. 'Stutter' by definition is repetition, which I have never done in my life. My disfluency consists of massive blocks. I don't exactly fit into the typical category I suppose. My stuttering is moderate to severe, but I don't have any self-esteem issues nor to I avoid conversation.
I see my stammer not as a social embarrassment, but rather a strain on my productivity. For example, I'm not embarrassed to stutter on the phone, I'm angry because I cannot properly accomplish the tasks needed using the phone. Things such as calling the cable company to fix my TV are so hard, and I feel the stammer makes me incapable of tasks, not really a social embarrassment. Still, if I could have anything in the world it would be normal speech.
To me, normal speech and fluency are NOT the same thing. I see the loads of before/after speech therapy videos and it depresses me. The before parts are all the same, the person struggles to say simple questions, then the after part results in them speaking like a robot with no emotion. Isn't the point of therapy to be more normal? I fail to see how stuttering is any worse than sitting , staring straight into the camera and slowly talking like a lifeless, emotionless robot. When they speak in the real world with a stutter the listeners realize they have a speech issue, but when they speak 'fluently' they just sound stupid. This is part of why I look down on therapies and stopped the ones I tried.
Another thing that bothers me if the total lack of information. A simple google of the word 'stutter' pretty much links to profit seeking clinics or $60 books that tell you to breathe. Plus, all the books and guides talk about how to treat children.
About a year ago I got the SpeechEasy device...what a crock. It's merely a placebo effect if you ask me. I suppose it's meant to appeal more the repetitive stutters rather than my blocking stammer, but still. When I tried it with the therapist she had me read passages before and after, and there was a difference. Keep in mind, speaking normally is the #1 desire in my life. With that in mind, I dished out the 5k with hope of even a slight improvement. The device is meant to work with the synchronization effect. Stutters are perfectly fluent when saying the same thing at the same time as someone else, such as joining in on a song in church. It's a mental thing, and the device is meant to trick you into thinking someone is talking with you. I guess my brain is too smart and realized that it was a fake person :) I think it simply offers short term confidence without any real help, so I don't recommend it.
I look forward to hearing replies and discussing things further, and I apologize for sounding like a rant :)
I'm a 20 year old college student in Tennessee. I was born in outside of LA and have stammered since I learned to talk. I say stammered because I personally feel a difference between the two. 'Stutter' by definition is repetition, which I have never done in my life. My disfluency consists of massive blocks. I don't exactly fit into the typical category I suppose. My stuttering is moderate to severe, but I don't have any self-esteem issues nor to I avoid conversation.
I see my stammer not as a social embarrassment, but rather a strain on my productivity. For example, I'm not embarrassed to stutter on the phone, I'm angry because I cannot properly accomplish the tasks needed using the phone. Things such as calling the cable company to fix my TV are so hard, and I feel the stammer makes me incapable of tasks, not really a social embarrassment. Still, if I could have anything in the world it would be normal speech.
To me, normal speech and fluency are NOT the same thing. I see the loads of before/after speech therapy videos and it depresses me. The before parts are all the same, the person struggles to say simple questions, then the after part results in them speaking like a robot with no emotion. Isn't the point of therapy to be more normal? I fail to see how stuttering is any worse than sitting , staring straight into the camera and slowly talking like a lifeless, emotionless robot. When they speak in the real world with a stutter the listeners realize they have a speech issue, but when they speak 'fluently' they just sound stupid. This is part of why I look down on therapies and stopped the ones I tried.
Another thing that bothers me if the total lack of information. A simple google of the word 'stutter' pretty much links to profit seeking clinics or $60 books that tell you to breathe. Plus, all the books and guides talk about how to treat children.
About a year ago I got the SpeechEasy device...what a crock. It's merely a placebo effect if you ask me. I suppose it's meant to appeal more the repetitive stutters rather than my blocking stammer, but still. When I tried it with the therapist she had me read passages before and after, and there was a difference. Keep in mind, speaking normally is the #1 desire in my life. With that in mind, I dished out the 5k with hope of even a slight improvement. The device is meant to work with the synchronization effect. Stutters are perfectly fluent when saying the same thing at the same time as someone else, such as joining in on a song in church. It's a mental thing, and the device is meant to trick you into thinking someone is talking with you. I guess my brain is too smart and realized that it was a fake person :) I think it simply offers short term confidence without any real help, so I don't recommend it.
I look forward to hearing replies and discussing things further, and I apologize for sounding like a rant :)