The Prof Is In

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Re: does stuttering wear off?

From: Gary J. Rentschler
Date: 01 Oct 2010
Time: 18:54:57 -0500
Remote Name: 74.111.117.243

Comments

That is a very interesting question.. and being of an older age I have some thoughts about that. Lots of things change as you get older; some of the changes are good and some aren't so happy. But of the ones that are happy, I've seen that I have changed and so has my stuttering. Now it hasn't gone away mind you, but I think that I've changed how I think about. For me, therapy was both very difficult and pretty successful. Looking back I'm glad that I worked hard, thinking that if my stuttering didn't go away that at least I'd know what to do. Well, my stuttering didn't go away, but I do know what to do when I think its going to happen. Now, after many, many years of practice, I've got it pretty much under control.. not perfect, but I can say what I want to say without needing to worry about stuttering very much. And because I've told SO many people that I stutter, one more person finding out really is not a big deal. Some people are surprised to find out that I stutter. In fact a new friend that I met in Cleveland at an National Stuttering Association meeting (who stutters) emailed me afterwords and asked me if I was a person who stuttered! I don't try to fool people into thinking that I don't stutter; in fact I've found that most people are actually quite understanding and nice when I tell them. Once in a while there's a person who isn't so nice about it, but I just figure that that's not a person I really want as my friend anyhow. I've got lots of friends now, many who stutter and many who don't. But I always feel a special bond with my friends who stutter. So I think the answer to your question is, yes! Lots of things change, even your stuttering. For most older people who stutter you just learn to live with it and it doesn't seem all that bad compared to so many other things that can happen to you. Regards and best of luck. Ol' Gary


Last changed: 10/23/10