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From: Bobby Childers
Date: 10/6/01
Time: 10:57:33 AM
Remote Name: 216.234.195.191
Andrew: This was an excellent article and it raised some very good points. I can't even say how many times that I have gone to an interview and even though I was qualified for the position, didn't get it because of my stuttering.
My current job (System Administrator), I went to the interview with the HR Representative, the person I was to replace, and the Social Worker. At the beginning of the interview I informed the committee that I stuttered, and was going through speech therapy at the local university, but it would not affect my performing the work.
A couple of months later when I was finally hired (that interview was done with the Network Administrator), the guy I replaced told me that the HR person would not let me be hired because of my stuttering. Instead she wanted someone else who lasted two weeks and quit. She overruled the other two people and quelled my application.
I'm sure this goes on quite frequently, and the only way employers will know that someone who stutters can do the job is to let them do it.
Maybe if we had a organization similar to yours here in the US, they could increase employer awareness of stuttering, and we wouldn't have such a hard time finding decent employment.