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From: Marija, Croatia
Date: 13 Oct 2004
Time: 17:31:20 -0500
Remote Name: 195.29.108.163
Thank you for clearing out a lot of things I knew inside but couldn't quite explain. And thank you MOST for this paragraph: "Stuttering is not a static condition. The person who stutters also speaks normally much of the time. This condition cannot be adequately described or measured at a particular moment in time. It is characterized by sudden, unpredictable shifts in the efficiency of vocal tract adjustments. There is always the likelihood that something abnormal will occur in the future regardless of what happened in the past and what is happening in the present. The stronger the drive to express oneself, the more likely the body will refuse to do so. Efforts to predict and prepare often increase difficulty." This is why, when I talk to my colleague about, say, what will we cook today, my voice flows strong, immersed in my joyful character; and then when right after that I want to ask her something about work (which I had thought of before), my whole attitude will change, like I flip into another person, and I begin to stutter. When I start saying "muffin" while tying my shoes at home, I'll be so anxious coming to the store that I won't even buy it. But if I see the muffin by accident and just speak the thought out of my mind ("oh, and this muffin, please") at that exact moment, I won't stutter. I think the solution would be DON'T THINK. I agree on the roller-coaster description. Still, one thing is certain in a roller-coaster too: it has ups and then downs and then ups... Ups and downs are a constant. Whenever I get low, I KNOW because I'VE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED, that an up will come soon. We should not get depressed by a low, just let it pass and not overemphasize it. And it will pass. Sorry for me being this long!