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From: Erin Terzian
Date: 02 Oct 2005
Time: 23:25:04 -0500
Remote Name: 24.22.154.197
Thank you for your liberating paper! I have just recently become aware of this conference and have thoroughly enjoyed hearing your story. I stuttered as a child and distinctly recall the intense anxiety associated with reading aloud in class. I would say something like “I lost my place” if I anticipated trouble beginning the passage, primarily to buy time and to effectively begin the flow of speech so reading the first word would feel more natural. Although the more obvious stuttering all but disappeared as I grew older, I continue to experience speech blocks and over the years have devised complex avoidance/substitution schemes to combat the anticipation of troublesome words. Many years ago, I realized that the key to conquering this debilitating, fear-fueled way of life is improved self confidence. I simply refused to allow my occasional dysfluencies to dictate the types of jobs or classes I felt I would succeed in. I am now a postbaccalaureate student, studying speech pathology at Western Washington University (U.S.). Never having had any speech therapy myself, I am eager to learn more about the techniques used to improve stuttering, particularly the breathing techniques you have found so helpful. I do have a few questions for you. When you chose to accept the challenge of speaking before an audience, did your stuttering prove to be as pronounced as expected? Did you experience many initial setbacks? Were you, at that time, already utilizing the techniques you had learned? Thanks again. All the best, Erin Terzian