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From: Anita
Date: 15 Oct 2006
Time: 15:42:23 -0500
Remote Name: 81.228.218.44
Thanks noticing this very point, Tabitha. I take any opportunity to educate. That might be with an information booth, but also in daily life. When I'm off for a stuttering conference, I tell everyone I'm not home as I'm going to.... That might be the customs officer as well as the baker. I wear a button that says "S-s-sure I stutter. What are y-y-you good at"? I know this is very hard for many and it took me many year to get to this point. And it's easier for me who cannot hide my stutter as it is for those who can (covert PWS), as there's no way out, so I might as well make the best of it. To covert PW I would say, why are you being ashamed for something that is not your fault? Is a blind person ashamed of his blindness he's born with or which is caused by an accident or an illness? Should a red-head dye her hair simply because someone doesn't like red? But covert PWS have another problem. When I talk about stuttering to others, they can see my point, as I obviously stutter. Covert PWS might talk about stuttering and others say "yeah, right". So they only way out in the open is to tell the people that this is the exact reaction why they don't stutter openly: people's reactions. That overt PWS can stutter more simply because of the reactions of other people and that covert PWS hide even more because of people's reactions. Find a metaphor to describe stuttering. I personally like the iceberg theory, other people might draw another picture to explain what "comes out" and what's "inside". But the most important message I can give anyone is to dare to be you, with all that's attached. If being you feels uncomfortable, try and find out why that is and what you can do about it. But if they don't wnt their voices to be heard, that's ok too. As long as they ackowledge themselves who they are. An advice coming from a person who spent so many years trying to be what other people wanted me to be (or at least I thought so), winding up loosing myself, which almost cost me my life. Believe me, I rather stutter... Anita