[ Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Hannah Laday
Date: 21 Oct 2010
Time: 09:23:26 -0500
Remote Name: 205.188.117.66
Marcos, like you, my family was not a very safe or supportive place for me to do what I needed to do to own my stuttering and learn to cope more productively. As I described in my paper, I picked one safe person at a time to start exposing my stuttering and owning it openly. Take small steps to build on. Connect to other PWS who will support you as you build on your confidence. There are so many ways to connect to other PWS now. You can find a "pal" who you can work with via phone or e-mail to walk with you one step at a time. It really does help to share with someone who supports you and who you trust. Examples of such support are on the list-serv "Covert-S". You can write down small goals, share them with a safe person, and then process with that person how it went, if you can improve next time. It's work but well worth it. These are the things that have helped me. Although I've had to let go of any goal of family acceptance or support, amazingly now mixed in with the indifference, I've recently gotten small nuggets of acknowledgment from them. It's painful at times to pursue what you need without family, but taking care of oneself is most important, as cliche as it sounds. When others see us improving ourselves, in whatever form that takes, attitude, self-confidence, they will notice eventually. We PWS know the journey and you've got all of us out here to support you. Hannah