Hey everyone.

[mayday]

I have been stuttering for as long as I can remember. I remember when I was in grade three and I had this problem of stuttering. My mom used to tell me to talk slow, think about what I want to say and say it. My aunt, my dad and my sister always made fun of me because this problem. My stuttering is not so bad. In fact, the majority of the time I talk I am able to talk properly. However, there are those occasions where I can't say anything, I will try and tell a friend something and nothing comes out. I have problems talking to my own parents.

Growing up, I remember getting into a fight with someone because he kept bugging me about my stuttering. I remember reading in class and how difficult it was to read those paragraphs, like almost everyone on this forum, I remember scanning through the words and finding the most difficult ones. I played in a band as a lead singer and guitar player, and I had no problems talking in front of a crowd, singing and talking to my band. I do have a problem explaining something to anyone. For example, telling my friend he "needs to see a doctor to get some penicillin" would be a huge problem, ordering pizza is another one.

At the moment, I go to University and enrolled in the faculty of nursing. This is where the problems began to stack. Every week, I had to do presentations to people in front of class, and I stuttered and stuttered. Before I would talk to my whole class, I would inform them of a stuttering problem that may or may not show in the presentation. When I am in my practicum, talking to my patients can become difficult, but it's not that noticeable (in my opinion).

I've been reading through these forums for the past couple weeks now, but I did not bother joining until today. I had a meeting with my teacher today for individual evaluations on my practicum and my paper. She said I was going to fail the program because I was unable to clearly communicate at times, the reason why I did pass the course was because on the last day, I somehow flawlessly presented a health program to a classroom. The fact that I am being denied from something because of my speech problems really bothers me, and I have decided that today is the day I take a stand against my stuttering. I have four months to recovery till next semester, and I plan to become better.

I have come to a point (and I am sure many of you have) where you feel you are cornered and your only option is to fight back. I refuse to let this stop me from graduating and limit my life. I am here for you guys and I know we can make this through together. We have all taken a leap foward by joining this forum and venting our problems. We have taken another step foward by doing something about our problems.

[Standingtall]

Welcome mayday, so what kind of music did you play.

Peace

[david]

welcome bud. What is your form of attack ?

Can we share it and perhaps try it too

[floraleffects]

welcome mayday,

i have been there too .. all the mockery, the presentations n gradings .. i've joined a debate club in school n although i had my good fights i was always graded down cuz i apparently had ' clear communication problems'. Believe it or not, i had a lot lower levels of stuttering n a lot less bad days in school as compared 2 university ... i think it was cuz of my focusing all the time in impressing my teachers and colleagues and always having 2 do presentations ... i remember that i was cleared of stuttering TOTALLY for a month .... it was cuz my english teacher always had me reading in class without grading me or judging me for about 6 months or so .. and she never mentioned it 2 me even once ... i was cleared for a month n then she had 2 leave school n that as hen it returned. So i guess u can make sth out of that, right?

[Host of Chaos]

hi mayday. seems likeu and staningtall r from the same bit.do u now each other? seems like a gr8 chnce to make a new friend.have fun beng ere.

[happy7117]

Doesn't "mayday" mean "help"???

I believe Mayday also means May 1st...which is next week!

[Standingtall]

hi mayday. seems likeu and staningtall r from the same bit.do u now each other? seems like a gr8 chnce to make a new friend.have fun beng ere.
Hey dude, I notice, trying not to scare him away. I just work south of the university where he is going to school at, if that is the right university.

[3FingerBrown]

Welcome aboard mayday!!!
I like your attitude, you don't have to fight alone.
As far as the "communication problems", I don't know too much about disability discrimination in Canada but it sure sounds like this teacher was pushing it.

What do you mean by "recovery" in 4 months?

Who would have thought we'd have 2 PWS from a region with more moose than people. :D
Glad to have you here,
Ari

[Marrow]

Hey mayday glad u decided to join the forum.

About what ur teacher was saying about u failing the course because u cant communicate properly. This kind of attitude really s me off. For an example if their was a person in a wheelchair in the teachers class, the teacher wudn't say 'if u can't walk in 4 months u will fail the class'. If the teacher did say this most likely they wud be in deep shit. I guess my point is 'why not the same for stuttering'.

Ive read a few posts on here recently which involve people in authority who seem really ignorant about stuttering and think it can be cured in a few months when this simply isnt the case (not for me anyway). Information needs to be dealt to the mass's.

Anyway look forward to hearing your views and experiences.

Laters

Nick

[mayday]

Hey guys, sorry for the late responses. I had to write my last exam.
In the past few months I have been experiencing a lot of people that do not understand what I am going through and I have been often teased about it. I am sure many of you may feel the same about getting teased about something that you can't really change overnight. When I was told I could have failed the course because of my stuttering, I was really pissed. However, I did not bring it up during the meeting because I was unable to communicate (I had a stuttering moment and decided to keep silent).
What I meant by recovery in four months is that I have four months between now and next semester. During the four months, I am going to practice my speech by reading to others (not to myself), I am working in a management type job (so that would either deter or help my problem), and I will most likely seek help through self-help books, forums, and other sources of information.

If you guys want to help me, or join me in this journey to become better let me know. We could set up some sort of plan, maybe talk on and practice by reading paragraphs.

By the end of the summer, I want to be able to:
-call and inquire about something on a random paper ad (I will ask the closest person to pick for me).
-order a pizza (for celebrations)
-possibly do a presentation for my floor next year on a health topic (ual health, stress, study habits etc)

Any other goals I want to add, I will post asap.

[mayday]

oh and yes, I am going to the U of A.

[Jamester]

Hey mayday,

Glad to get to know you. If I may ask, to what severity would you rate your stutter; miled, moderate, severe, or profound? Sounds like you are puting way too much pressure on yourself to achieve fluency in what I consider a short time. I do so wish you the best of luck and would very much want to be a part of your journey.

I have and would love to chat with you anytime. I have spoken to other members on the forum and it has been fun. PM me if you would like to connect.

Jamie

[mayday]

Hey Jamester,

my stuttering is mild. I can talk to my friends, just I choose to avoid words I cannot say, or I simply just do not talk at all. I can talk in front of a crowd, and I just use the same technique using other terms/words to describe something. However, I do get those long blocks where I can't say anything at all, but that happens every now and then.
It may seem like a short time to achieve these goals, but I am simply challenging myself to the task and I want to overcome this. If I don't make it, at least I tried and I will keep trying till it is gone. I will achieve fluency, I just don't know how long it till take.

but I will.

-jerome.

[happy7117]

If I may ask, to what severity would you rate your stutter; miled, moderate, severe, or profound? Jamie

Time for another foolish question-at least to me I think it sounds foolish!

What is severe stuttering???

What is profound stuttering???

I thought stuttering never got higher than severe!!

If severe is nasty stuttering...., what is profound stuttering!!

Severe, Very Severe, Profound....these degrees of difficulty confuse me....!!!!!!

What is a profound stutterer??

Mild- some small hesitations, bumps and itty bitty blocks I'm gueesing...

Moderate- more frequent pauses, more skips and bumps, and hard blocks...

Severe:: many blocks, reps, long pauses, stops, start overs..........body language.......

Very Severe::: tripping up on every word, much facial nastiness, hard blocks that take forever, fear of talking...

Profound:: I'll go with a guess--but feel free to add to what I think profound stuttering is........

Facial contortions, grimaces, eye blinking, very long silent blocks, repititons on every word that last for many seconds....hatred , anger, refusal to talk, numerous start-overs..........

Add your thoughts to maybe clearify my own definitons!!

[happy7117]

Hey Jamester,

my stuttering is mild. I can talk to my friends, just I choose to avoid words I cannot say, or I simply just do not talk at all. I can talk in front of a crowd, and I just use the same technique using other terms/words to describe something. However, I do get those long blocks where I can't say anything at all, but that happens every now and then.
It may seem like a short time to achieve these goals, but I am simply challenging myself to the task and I want to overcome this. If I don't make it, at least I tried and I will keep trying till it is gone. I will achieve fluency, I just don't know how long it till take.

but I will.

-jerome.

Mayday--- Tuesday is Mayday because Tuesday is May 1st!! It's your day Mayday on Tuesday!!

Anyway, Talk to Jamie(Jamester). You will learn to enjoy her just as much as I have!! She is definately a team player. I think that goes for us all!! We wll beat the stutter one way or the other!!!

You are so lucky to be a mild stutterer!! I would MUCH rather stutter mildly like you, or moderatly than how I stutter now!

It's crazy stutter anger!