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From: melissa
Date: 08 Oct 2006
Time: 14:32:22 -0500
Remote Name: 74.66.243.17
I am a graduate student on the academic path towards achieving a Masters in Speech Language Pathology. As a “speechy”, I am currently taking my first class concerned with stuttering. Prior to enrollment in this class, I knew very little about stuttering and people who stutter (PWS). Learning about the basics of stuttering has caused me to think about the difficulties face by PWS in every day life, especially in the work place. For a class project, I was assigned to model voluntary stuttering in an unfamiliar environment to empathize as much as possible with PWS. While undergoing this exercise, I experienced negative thoughts triggering feelings of embarrassment and nervousness. I can only imagine the negative thoughts and feelings experienced by PWS in the work force. I was not surprised to learn from your findings that “people who stutter in all countries face significant challenges at work and instances of discrimination”. Many people who stutter seem to be embarrassed by and ashamed of their speech dysfluencies. At work, where communication is critical to achievement, many PWS will feel extremely limited by their stuttering. At work, employees depend upon effective communication to expand their knowledge base, gain answers to their questions, explain their work to others, and interact with their peers on a professional and or social level. If PWS allow their insecurities to limit communication, they will certainly restrict their opportunities for growth. I am certain that PWS face discrimination from their fellow employees and superiors. To the ignorant majority, PWS appear nervous, frazzled, and perhaps incompetent. Keeping these stereotypes in mind, employers might not choose a PWS to pitch a product to a potential client. The employer might view his employee who stutters as less competent than other employees, and or the employer might fear that his client might harbor negative stereotypes about PWS. Although I do believe that discrimination of PWS, especially in the work place, is a definite reality, I do also wonder whether the insecurities of PWS cause PWS to sense greater discrimination than actually exists. Furthermore, I believe that in order to collect a true measure of discrimination in the work place, an anonymous survey concerned with beliefs about stuttering must be administered to employers and employees who do not stutter and then analyzed. I strongly agree that more emphasis must be placed on preparing PWS to succeed in the word place in lieu of their stuttering. PWS should learn to become comfortable with their stuttering in everyday communication. Furthermore, the more comfortable the PWS is with their disfluencies, the less the person might be dysfluent in speech. I also believe that more information about ‘the basics of stuttering’ needs to be disseminated in the workplace. This will educate many people who do not stutter about stuttering and PWS and perhaps lessen the stereotypes of PWS.