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From: Stephanie (Student @ Northern Michigan University)
Date: 05 Oct 2010
Time: 22:24:30 -0500
Remote Name: 204.38.61.244
Grant, I was very intrigued by your article. I found myself relating much of what you mentioned about stuttering and the word disability to my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law contracted meningitis several years ago and now has difficulties walking because of the disease. She was recently telling me that while in college and during her early 20s, she was uncomfortable with the term “disabled”. In the past, she had decided against obtaining a handicap sticker for her car because she viewed her disability in a negative connotation. My sister-in-law explained that her sense of pride would not allow her to consider herself to have a disability; however, as she has gotten older, she says that she has begun to realize that a disability should not be viewed in a negative sense. The story of my sister-in-law makes me wonder if maybe, in time, some persons who stutter may begin to realize that stuttering can be seen as a disability, but it does not have to be a bad thing. Thank you!