Another great session! Nine of us got together and chatted about how the time change during Spring Forward can affect people’s stuttering. Some have seasonal shifts which “throws them off”, while some felt it really didn’t change their speech at all.
One member shared that he has been practicing speaking into a walkie-talkie at work, which was initially challenging but has been getting much easier over time. He also mentioned that it was only last year that he got up the courage to order food from a drive thru. Other members made good points that the audio might be so broken up when you order that the employee might not even be able to hear the stuttering. One member of the school-age group is doing a project to post a sign at drive thrus to allow people to order face-to-face for that reason. What do you think of that idea?
Another member shared a story about meeting a dad who stuttered, who consciously tries not to stutter around his adopted child, because he worried his boy would pick up on the stuttering. We talked about how sometimes siblings who don’t stutter imitate stuttering, but generally it’s temporary and does not turn into “real” stuttering. The fear that somehow it can “rub off” on someone is strong though for that parent, and he has changed the way he talks as a result.
We discussed how sometimes people stutter more/less in front of others, such as not stuttering at all while reading a story to a child, but stuttering severely if an adult walks into the room. One member asked about whether there was a pill to get rid of stuttering, and the group discussed various anxiety or beta-blocker drugs which may help people relax but aren’t specific to stuttering. No “cure” yet! Then we talked about whether or not folks would even want the stuttering to go away “magically” if they could, since it is a part of their identity. Great discussion, and see you on the 24th for next meeting!