Thanks for sharing this deeply personal story. As a kid who basically didn't talk to anyone outside my family (due to anxiety, not stammering), I can relate.
Debbie, thanks for sharing. Over all the decades since we first met, I have never noticed that you stammer.
I often speak haltingly. I sound fine to myself when I talk, and polite people don't complain, so for a long time I was largely unaware of the problem. Now that I can listen to myself on videos of Zoom meetings, I often find my manner of speaking embarrassing.
I've been this way for a long time. When I was in fourth grade, my teacher said to my mother, "Why can't he just spit it out?"
I am horrified by what your teacher said to your mother!!!! Were you there when she said it? Or did your mother tell you?
I used to cringe when I see myself in videos or hear myself speaking, too. I still do sometimes, but I find doing it over and over and over and over and over again helps me get used to it.
Hey Debbie! I hope this finds you well. Thank you for sharing your personal story. I would not have known you stammered. I was very moved and interested in learning more about stammering and the neurophysics of it, and I didn't expect to end up down a rabbit hole. I spent hours yesterday on one of the websites you recommended, STAMMA.ORG and when I searched their site for "singing" I found so much good research, some which I already knew about, and some that was very eye opening and gave me several good ideas and I will be contacting a SLT who does research into the positive effects of singing for those who stammer. Elongating vowels helps, so a song that would do that could possibly be helpful besides being fun to sing. Can you please dm me on Twitter/X with an email I can write you at? I have a couple questions for you. I will probably not see this thread again. Lost in space.... I found this via email. Take care and stay creative! Peace, Annie
Annie Lynn, thank you for the kind words. re: singing - Yes, it's a well-known fact that many stammerers have no trouble singing or half-singing speech, elongating vowels etc. I've experimented with some of those techniques, too! My contact form is https://debbieohi.com/contact/ but I'm heading out of town this week so may not be able to respond until later in the month.
Thanks for sharing this deeply personal story. As a kid who basically didn't talk to anyone outside my family (due to anxiety, not stammering), I can relate.
Thank you, Andrea, and thank you especially for sharing why you can relate. *hugs*
Debbie, thanks for sharing. Over all the decades since we first met, I have never noticed that you stammer.
I often speak haltingly. I sound fine to myself when I talk, and polite people don't complain, so for a long time I was largely unaware of the problem. Now that I can listen to myself on videos of Zoom meetings, I often find my manner of speaking embarrassing.
I've been this way for a long time. When I was in fourth grade, my teacher said to my mother, "Why can't he just spit it out?"
I am horrified by what your teacher said to your mother!!!! Were you there when she said it? Or did your mother tell you?
I used to cringe when I see myself in videos or hear myself speaking, too. I still do sometimes, but I find doing it over and over and over and over and over again helps me get used to it.
I wasn't there. My mother told me when I was an adult. Many years had passed, but she was still indignant.
Hey Debbie! I hope this finds you well. Thank you for sharing your personal story. I would not have known you stammered. I was very moved and interested in learning more about stammering and the neurophysics of it, and I didn't expect to end up down a rabbit hole. I spent hours yesterday on one of the websites you recommended, STAMMA.ORG and when I searched their site for "singing" I found so much good research, some which I already knew about, and some that was very eye opening and gave me several good ideas and I will be contacting a SLT who does research into the positive effects of singing for those who stammer. Elongating vowels helps, so a song that would do that could possibly be helpful besides being fun to sing. Can you please dm me on Twitter/X with an email I can write you at? I have a couple questions for you. I will probably not see this thread again. Lost in space.... I found this via email. Take care and stay creative! Peace, Annie
Annie Lynn, thank you for the kind words. re: singing - Yes, it's a well-known fact that many stammerers have no trouble singing or half-singing speech, elongating vowels etc. I've experimented with some of those techniques, too! My contact form is https://debbieohi.com/contact/ but I'm heading out of town this week so may not be able to respond until later in the month.
Thanks for sharing this, Debbie! I never thought of collage therapy, though I do a lot of collage. Maybe I'll try it!