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From: Derek E. Daniels
Date: 10/20/03
Time: 8:50:11 AM
Remote Name: 129.1.136.107
Hi Terry,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree with your comments. I don’t think that we should force ourselves to “pick one box” over the other: that is, (overt) stutterer or fluent speaker. You’re right; we’re a mixture of both (or “covert stutterers”). I think we’ve been taught to believe that it has to be one or the other. We see this issue all the time with so-called “blended identities”. For example, people of “mixed-race” would argue the same thing: that our identity can encompass both sets of experiences. There are many times when I am very fluent, and thus have nothing to “come out” to. I think it’s those times when we word-substitute or avoid that people want us to “come out”. But, as you mentioned, we can pass as fluent. However, I think this whole notion of stuttering may, in a sense, be a social construct. The categories that we have created, “overt,” “covert,” etc, are sort of difficult to define. Sometimes I’m not sure where to place myself. I fall back and forth on the continuum. I would probably say that I am a “covert stutterer” most of the time, but there can be times when I am very overt. I guess it’s those “overt moments” that mark the stuttering part of my “covert” experience. I’m sure overt stutterers can also “pass”, and maybe that marks the “covert” part of their “overt” experience. We may even be able to break those 2 categories down even further: covert stutterers with many secondary behaviors and those with little to no secondary behaviors, and the same for overt stuttering. The lines can get pretty blurry though. I tend to not place a great emphasis on categories because my experience is so varied. But having said that, I do not necessarily disagree with those that do. I think it’s certainly ok to come out as a “covert stutterer,” acknowledging the fact that you can pass as fluent, that increased moments of fluency distinguish you from “overt stutterers”, and that your experience is, in a sense, uniquely different. Having a literature on that experience would reduce lots of emotional pressure, and more research should be done on the “covert” experience.
I write both poetry and fiction. In fact, one of the characters in the novel I am currently writing is a “covert” stutterer. I tend to write about “hidden experiences” or, as I call it, “backyard culture” – experiences and routines of life that we don’t typically “see” or read about. Don’t look for it in bookstores too soon! LOL. Maybe after I finish my doc program:) Take care.
Derek