Bryan is a 23-year-old young man, born in Dallas, but raised in Garland, TX, for almost his whole life. He is the eldest of his siblings. Bryan loves to work with computers, is an avid reader and gamer, but he is also into Tae Kwon Do and voice-over, always trying to create new voices (Gollum, Chewbacca, etc). He also wants to learn to play instruments but always pushes it for another time. Though he is rather quiet and seems to not want to talk to you, he is quite the opposite once you get to know him.
Bryan has been stuttering since he can remember. Bryan attended speech therapy for all 3 school
levels, and for the most part he enjoyed just staying in the background, except when it came to martial arts and music. He practiced Tae Kwon Do for almost his whole childhood, and was two belts away from becoming a black belt. He also competed in tournaments and even volunteered in the 2006 U.S Open (with his younger brother and mother). He calls those days “one of my favorite in life”.
As he began high school, he began to stutter less than before; which led him to feel a bit more confident to join theater, more computer classes, and even became a counselor’s aide— each making him more comfortable speaking. Now 4-5 years after graduating high school, enrolling in an IC3 program and passing it, he has made enough progress to only really stutter with words that have S’s and T’s (sometimes W’s) or when nervous. He believes he has reached a level where he is happy to have conversations in specific topics or just random chit chat. Bryan says that discovering the NSA Dallas chapter has only progressed his life in a positive way. “Being able to listen and be around like-minded people, discussing freely about our stuttering with no need to hide it, is a breath of fresh air,” he says. “It’s an experience I would recommend to anyone willing to learn more about stuttering and any other speech-impediments.”
Next time you you see Bryan ask him to show you his turning side kick!
#NSASpotlight #GetToKnowUs #WeStutter