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From: Anita Blom
Date: 21 Oct 2008
Time: 03:38:48 -0500
Remote Name: 217.209.4.218
Hi Laura. It IS rewarding to share my story and see how that empowers others. I've been talking to 15 classes last week and to see those stuttering kids come out (the teachers didn't even know that had stuttering pupils!) is just amazing. I also just returned from the National Stammering Awareness Day in Dublin and had two speeches, of which one of them about facing fears. And the feedback is so amazing! To hear that a person suddenly sees stuttering and him/herself with totally different eyes. To see children producing art, sharing their thoughts, finding strength in being with other people who stutter. I feel so proud to be among them! My daughter doesn't stutter, but she has been with me to meetings and stutter camps from the day she was born (well, don't exaggerate, 10 days afterwards...) and is now a camp leader and is chatting with lots of stuttering teens. Yes, it has brought us closer, as she knows about my and other people's struggle, respects the many hours I spend behind the computer and the many days I am away to meetings and conferences and having her mother in the media (which is quite embarrassing for a teenager...). And all those teen camps and chat groups helped me to get more understanding in what's in teenagers' heads today. She's my everything and I'm so proud of her. Happy ISAD! Anita