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From: Cathy Olish
Date: 07 Oct 2009
Time: 19:45:04 -0500
Remote Name: 68.61.237.97
Britta, thanks for your comments and questions. What would I tell someone who is covert but wants to become more open? What would be the first thing I would say to them based on my life experiences? I would first tell them that they are not alone. That there are three million people who stutter and a lot of people who hide their stuttering just like they do. I would ensure they learned about the NSA and what they have to offer and tell them about the on-line Yahoo covert group. As far as my journey, I would share with them the lengths I would go to hide my stuttering and the points along the way where I became a little bit more open about my stuttering. I would tell them how nice it is to worry a little less about that phone call you have to make, about that social event you are going to and about how nice it is to finally realize you are not the only one who stutters. Having the support of other PWS is the most important thing (I believe) and knowing that it is a process and that they don't have to tell everyone and be totally open about their stuttering in a day...that it's okay to take things slow, tell one person about their stuttering and become a little more open with them about it to see how it makes us feel and start from there. If comfortable, talk to more people about it and over time, it will become easier. As stated before, to let them know they are not the only person who stutters like they do!