[ Contents | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Devon Swain
Date: 10/22/03
Time: 11:16:48 AM
Remote Name: 171.75.197.253
Donald, First off, thank you for writing your article - I found it to be a very helpful resource in helping someone like me (a fluent person) gain insight into the life of a person who stutters. I thought the portion of the different responses you have received to your stuttering interesting. The "Surprise" response hit most at home to me. See, I am a graduate student in the field of SLP and have not yet done my clinical work, so I haven't had any fluency clients of my own. Prior to my fluency course work I had only talked with one stutterer my whole life (and he was relatively fluent). I have found that I embarrass easily and not only do I blush feverishly when I stutter, but when I hear someone else stutter I begin to look embarrassed. I don't break eye contact or laugh, but I do blush. My question to you is have you ever had this experience with one of your listeners and how did you feel? If you've never had someone blush when speaking to you, do you think it would upset you? Basically, am I making people feel like they should be embarrassed or ashamed about their stuttering? This certainly isn't my intent and I'm nervous about the impact this could have on potential fluency clients. I am hoping as I am exposed to more clinical hours this will go away. As you can see, it is a barrier for me and it's something I don't feel I have control over.