My Story of Speech

by Lisa C. - 5th grade

Speech ordeals such as stuttering are very complicated things to get rid of. It requires a lot of time and patience. There are millions of people on this earth that have problems with their speech. Thousands of them try to keep it hidden. But trying to keep it hidden is a bad step, because what will you do when it comes out? How will you control it? Well, that is what my story is about.

Hi! My name is Lisa and I live in a city in Illinois called Ottawa. I am 11 years old, and am about to share my story of speech with you. It all started when I was about 3 years old. My voice started to change and with that, my speech ordeals began to develop. Throughout my life until I was seven, my parents did not know how to teach me the proper ways of speech. They taught me things such as "slow down, start over, think about what you are going to say, let it flow." These were not proper solutions for me, but to my parents, they were.

Then we met my speech teacher, Mrs. Reardon. She is very helpful and she teaches me the proper ways of speech such as, easy onsets, smooth movements, pullouts, etc. But the key to controlling my speech at this point is easy onsets.

These are all ways that may help your speech. And for those of you who hide your stuttering, you could try telling your parents or guardians and have them contact a speech teacher for you. And remember, you are not alone! If you get teased about your speech, or just have friends who don't understand, try telling them "I have a speech problem, and I have a speech teacher to help me." That's all you have to say. That's what I did. And if you feel like you have to talk to someone about your speech, and a teacher is not around, you could talk to someone you know that has a speech ordeal. Just remember: don't keep your thoughts hidden, and remember that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! :)


added with permission, November 13, 1997