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From: Anita
Date: 21 Oct 2007
Time: 14:11:56 -0500
Remote Name: 81.233.61.122
Society is getting better at understanding and treating PWS with respect. There is more information available and the media is getting more interested. But it's going slowly... People still thing they're helping when the fill in our words, tell us to speak more slowly and think stuttering is either something to really for sorry for or that stuttering is nothing special as "everyone stutters every now and then". Also that stuttering is something static, something we do all the time and is the same for all of us. If we don't tell them, how can we expect others to understand and do/say the right things? My advice to PWS of all ages would be: be who you are and don't focus on your stuttering. Work with it, but see it as something you do, not something you are. It's a part of you, but there is another part of you as well that is well worth acknowledging. Everyone is good at something, everyone is less good at something. And thank God for that! You don't expect all other people to be perfect, so stop expecting that from yourself. Focus on your strong sides and develop these. Show who you are. If you're hiding behind your stutter, people will never get to know the real you. Reward yourself and pet yourself on the back for the good things you do, however small. (Good cook, nice to other people, taking care of my appearance, good at jiw saws, etc.) And keep talking. Anita