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From: Pamela Mertz
Date: 08 Oct 2008
Time: 07:20:06 -0500
Remote Name: 163.153.6.145
Tom, thanks for the great comments & question. I honestly get uncomfortable when people start putting me on that pedestal . . . . that is not where I want to be. I thnk what was special about me and my circumstances is that it was time. I was ready - and when the horrible experience of getting fired becasue I stutter happened, I used that energy to start doing stuff. Immediately, it was a survival tactic. I either had to do stuff - go to Toastmaster and NSA meetings - or I would stay in bed all day. Neither appealed to me. And filing a complaint with ADA really made me siut and take notoce that "Hey, this wasn't right. Let me start telling people about it so it doesn't happen again". I think I have rubbed off a little on some fellow PWS I interact. I have asked both to join me on two separate occassions to present to a group on the stuttering experience. Had they been asked to do it alone, I would bet they would have no thanks - but doing it with someone else, now that's what works. I would suggest you get two people working together to go and talk to a grade school class, or a SLP class. That is my idea. Or, have the person take advantage of a rock bottom moment. Mine was getting fired - not everyone's need to be so dramatic, but with me, it really was make lemonade out of the lemons. Thanks again for reading and sharing. --Pam