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From: Chris Roach
Date: 10/5/01
Time: 6:23:23 PM
Remote Name: 152.163.197.67
Andrew, wonderful paper and very important subject. I would love much of your actual findings and published results. In the Dallas, Texas area, we have numerous Fortune 500 corporate employers and are a focal point of many high-tech, financial services, and real estate-type of employers. As you certainly know, image is a critical factor to hiring individuals. You said it well when you spoke of the various challenges confronting a stutterer in the workplace who may be falsely viewed only because of the image of stuttering.
We often debate the issue of disclosure of stuttering in the interview. Many have experienced that when they do mention it, the interviewer immediately tends to become skeptical. However, if it's not mentioned and the individual is an obvious, overt stutterer, that can tend to raise questions in the interviewer's mind about that candidate's "normalcy." For covert stutterers, the challenge is worse -- since you can utilize some avoidance techniques and substitution tactics, it's possible to hide it all together and win the job! Then what do you do? It's going to come out eventually, so you fear that the employer will be angry that you weren't honest upfront, however, you also fear that if you were honest, you'd likely would have to have overcome the stuttering stigma to be even considered for hire. Sort of a Catch 22.
We agree that disclosure in the interview, in some appropriate form or fashion is best in the long run (some verbally mention it, others put it in the resume or application regarding their advocacy work or participation in a support group). How have you found to be the most acceptable and effective way (from the employer's viewpoint) for the individual to disclose it in the interview process? And WHEN in the job candidate process should it be mentioned?
Thanks for your important work. How can I access the details of your research paper and surveys? It would be of immense help for us in our outreach in our local communities.
Chris Roach Dallas, Texas