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From: Steven Kaufman
Date: 17 Oct 2008
Time: 22:57:29 -0500
Remote Name: 64.12.116.208
Good evening and greetings from the suburbs of New York! First of all, I wanted to say how wonderful it was to have seen you and Jill in North Jersey, and to have met the other members of your chapter-Kathleen Scaler Scott, Al Thomas, and of course, Derek. Mitch may be here in New York, but I know his spirit continues to live on in Lafayette. Additionally, congratulations on winning Chapter of The Year. It truly is a big honor. The NSA is such an amazing organization, and in many ways, a special fan club-because we're all fans of each other, and we support each other's work. I definitely was reading with much interest about how there is a connection with stuttering and other disorders, such as Asperger's. The person who posted a message about social anxiety disorder also had an interesting post. When a person finds out that they stutter, no doubt the first reaction is shock, but the parents don't often realize that stuttering can also contribute and manifest itself in different conditions. Speaking from a first-hand experience, when I first attended the NSA conference in Long Beach, Calif., I believed in being "seen and not heard." You could have not gotten me to talk to anyone, unless it was behind the stage of a karaoke microphone. Five days later, I underwent a metamorphisis and when I left, a new person emerged. Someone who wants to lead, and is driven to support other people who stutter. I always enjoy watching people go through that. At the closing ceremony, I cried with joy to see how so many first-timers developed the confidence and began to grow in their social development. An excellent paper with great information. I'm looking forward to seeing you, Jill, Derek, Al, Mitch, Kathleen and everyone else in Arizona 2009. Steven Kaufman