Hello there

[Cujo]

I only stumbled across this forum quite recently and after reading it for a short while I decided to sign up :D

I'm a 29 year old male from Ireland. I have been stuttering ever since the tender age of 4.

I think this forum is a great way to interact with other people who stutter, as I never talk about it at all, not even to my parents, girlfriend or close friends. It has always been abit of a taboo subject :o

Anyway, I look forward to posting a few threads here and chatting to you guys and hopefully we can help each other out :)

Take care and talk to you soon.

(P.S.: My handle/name comes from a Stephen King book ;) )

[Standingtall]

I read most of stephan king's books when I was growing up, back when he was still writing. I though it was short for Curtis Josepth, CuJo. Welcome, I know we have someone else who is half Irish, but I will let them introduce themselves.

[3FingerBrown]

Much to my mother's chagrin, Cujo was one of the first books I read after plowing through the Hardy Boys.
I LOVED that parts of the book were narrated by Cujo himself. cujo enshured that I'd read any and all Stephen King books for many years to come.

I do have a question for you, I always thought that my stuttering was a taboo subject also but have been discovering that it was a taboo subject because thats what those around me thought I wanted. I never spoke about it so noone else was going to either.

Welcome aboard Cujo!
Ari

[Cujo]

Thanks for the welcome guys :)

Cujo was my first Stephen King book also and it inspired me to read some of his other books like Salem's Lot, Carrie, Misery and my other favorite, The Shining. (Btw, I like all of the movie adoptations also :D).

Interesting enough, I actually noticed that a couple of the characters in Stephen King books stutter. For instance, the lead character in 'IT' had a childhood stutter that came back in his adult life and a young boy in 'Needful Things' had a stutter.

To answer your question 3FingersBrown, my stutter has been a taboo subject because I have always been very defensive of it. I used to go to a speech therapist when I was younger and my parents would join us sometimes to have a discussion, but we never talked about it outside of therapy. I guess I have always felt uncomfortable discussing my stutter because I want people to define me for the person that I am and not let a stutter cloud their judgment. I also see it as a sign of weakness (I know I shouldn't). When you meet people for the first time they take you at face value, but when you speak and they notice you stutter their might suddenly change their opinion about you and think they you are inferior to them or something. I know that might sound ridiculous, but it is basic human nature, survival of the fittest and all that.

I guess I have alot of issues :D haha

Btw, this forum is great release therapy for me. I can write what I really feel and I know that the people who read it can relate to it on some level. :)