[ Contents ]
From: Nora O'Connor
Date: 10/4/02
Time: 1:39:28 PM
Remote Name: 208.32.238.2
Thank you for taking the time to write such a well thought out and caring response to our papers Russ. Most often behind anyone's anger or frustration is fear or as I said also, fright (refer to Mary Wood's paper on living in fear or living in love). I had to build protective armor in order to survive the day-to-day battle with stuttering. The armor was at times a very useful coping mechanism until I found other tools. The armor was not able to come off until I found something equally as powerful to replace it with ... My journey to creating a healthier self image began in 1992 when I entered treatment for my alcoholism and drug addiction for the first time, then continued in 1997 at the Successful Stuttering Management Program and underlying all of that was a deepening spirituality.
I will confirm what Kari already eloquently wrote ... woman who stutter DO NOT have enough role models. I cannot remember the last time a female was a keynote speaker at a NSA conference. This needs to change. Woman and girls need to hear how other females have and are living with stuttering. We still live in a white male dominated culture. Although western society has made many advances woman are still experiencing oppression and are having their voices silenced daily. Woman who stutter struggle to have their voices heard and respected.
I look forward to more dialogue about women living with stutter.