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From: Lou Heite
Date: 07 Oct 2006
Time: 21:57:37 -0500
Remote Name: 24.237.249.158
Hello, Amy, As in any mindset-changing endeavor, it will take time, lots of time. Until it becomes as unacceptable to make stuttering the butt of jokes as it is to pick on race or ethnic background, the stereotype will exist. I've often thought that stuttering could use a good movie that will do for stuttering what "The Rain Man" did for autism, or "Forrest Gump" did for mild mental retardation or "Children of a Lesser God" did for deafness. (No, I'm not a screenwriter!) Until that time, though, this is really a situation where "Think global, act local" is probably the best approach. Simply, don't let the people around you get away with perpetuating the stereotype. Tell people when they engage in the stereotype that you don't like to have to listen to that kind of language or participate in perpetuating an inaccurate image of people who stutter. Make them defend themselves. You can do that gently and respectfully, and it really will help. Lou Heite