Stutterers have questions. In this disorder, it’s easy to feel lost. Some are desperate to understand the mechanics of it all—such as: What caused this? How can I prevent it? How do I cope with it when I can’t prevent it?
Some are agonized emotionally, and wonder: How do I explain this? Can I handle the mocking, and the shame? Can I deal with my stutter at work, when I’m with my family, or while I’m in a relationship?
I’ll answer all these questions and more; but first, I'll answer the most common, yet destructive, question a stutterer asks. I remember wondering this as a child, coming home from elementary school one afternoon, red-faced because I couldn’t clearly respond to my teacher in class. This question haunted me through middle school, high school, and all the way to college, and I’m certain it’s plagued some of you, too: Why do I feel so alone?
The answer is simple: because you choose to be. You are not alone. Stutterers deceive themselves into thinking that no one understands, or cares, or listens. But I understand, I care, and I listen, and I know there are many people out there who do, too. The resources for stutterers are numerous (if you’re skeptical, there are links on the left-hand side of this page). These sites are extremely valuable, but are missing camaraderie; there’s no sense of togetherness. Because of this, I always yearned to meet someone who understood what I was going through… and for other stutterers, I hope this blog will do just that. My goal is to help, advise, and support in any way that I can.
While this blog may be a haven for stutterers, it’s foreign territory to fluents (this is a term I invented for the majority of the population, who have little to no disfluency). But fluents, don’t pull out your artillery just yet; I haven’t forgotten about you. I believe I speak for most stutterers when I say we’re not looking for sympathy, and we’re certainly not looking for someone to blame. Most people that have mocked my stutter did so because they thought I was joking, and how can I blame them? If I’m not upfront when I meet someone (the hide-the-stutter game, which I’ll get to later) then when I do stutter, they don’t know how to respond. It’s an uncomfortable situation, and I can’t give you a foolproof answer… but, what I can give you is even better.
Fluents, use this blog as a way to understand, empathize, and glimpse into the secret, speech impediment world. Try keeping an open mind— after all, many of you have friends, family members, classmates, and colleagues that have speech impediments. (For some of you, that may even be me). If any of you have ever heard, spoken to, or cared about someone that stutters and wondered why, then this blog is for you. Everyone has insecurities, and everyone desires compassion. Stutterers are no different.
Though the blogging world is vast and competitive, I'm optimistic that I can make a difference. This is something I'm truly passionate about. If I can help even one stutterer overcome their problems, then it’ll all be worth it.
-Rachel
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