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From: Pam - not a professor but interested in this topic
Date: 12 Oct 2011
Time: 23:37:04 -0500
Remote Name: 67.248.218.106
Gerald, I was very happy to see all this discussion here about communication skills for people who stutter. And particularly pleased to see the last professor who responded, Scott, reference Toastmasters. I am an adult who stutters. I was covert (or tried to be, or thought I was) for many years, until I reached a crossroads 5 years ago, and gradually moved towards acceptance. Very gradually. In my first year in therapy (ever, as an adult, I did not allow myself to stutter publicly for that WHOLE year.)Eventually, I did allow myself to stutter, and now I do overtly. Along the way, I found Toastmasters, which has had a profound impact on my life. I have been involved with Toastmasters since April 2006, and have completed the Competent Communicator track, as well as three other advanced tracks, in all delivering more than 50 "official" Toastmasters speeches over the years, to small and large groups, to familiar members of my club and to total strangers. And I have stuttered in EVERY single speech - sometimes very little, sometimes quite noticeably. I gave a speech to over 200 youth and parents 2 years ago (that I did not know) called "Don't Be Like Me", and I actually got a standing ovation. They admired the fact that I could give a speech about public speaking AND stutter, and be OK with it. Toastmasters is a great resource, and beneficial supplement to traditional or self therapy. Several of the professors here mention that communication is not about stutter-free speech. It's about being able to confidently convey our message and connect with our listener, without fear of stuttering or fear of judgement. Feel free to check out my own paper on this conference titled, "I Stutter! How In The World Can I Join Toastmasters?" Hope no one objects to me chiming in here. ~Pam