Hi there

[springyrice]

Hello,

I'm Lucy, 26, from Cornwall England. I've stammered since I was about 4 years old. It's improved markedly as I've become an adult and got a bit more confidence. My stammer is very situational now though. It is still quite bad when meeting new people and talking on the telephone at work for example. I think I need to put myself forward in situations to desensitise myself but it is hard. Still, I keep telling myself I'm at least halfway there! :) I really believe that if you can change how you feel about your speech then that's half the battle won.
It's been really interesting to read through the threads on here. I look forward to taking part on here!

[Standingtall]

Hi lucy from Cromwall, England, i'm gene from Canada, good to see you made your self at home, looking forward in what you have to share with us.

[Tommy]

Hi Lucy. I think you're right. A good mental attitude can really change how feel and that can change how much we stutter. Confidence is very important I find.

[Dianne]

yipee!Another female member welcome and hope you enjoy the forum as much as I do.

[Tommy]

Not too many female stutterers around. I saw a young woman stuttering on CNN (I think it was CNN) and I sat fascinated watching her. Didn't feel good of course that she stuttered but having never seen or listened to a female stutterer before it was just so new.

[bwelling]

Hello Lucy, I too am a newbie and want to get to know other stutters and hear their thoughts and stories.

[bwelling]

Lucy, welcome to the . As a male and lifelong stutterer. I think that there are differences in male and female stutters. As I take notice of the subtle differences, I must say hearing the blocked speech is much more interesting than the fluent part of the speech. And yes, I totally agree that your attitude about your stammer is critical to who you are. It is a good thing to join a .

[bwelling]

Lucy, welcome to the . As a male and lifelong stutterer. I think that there are differences in male and female stutters. As I take notice of the subtle differences, I must say hearing the blocked speech is much more interesting than the fluent part of the speech. And yes, I totally agree that your attitude about your stammer is critical to who you are. It is a good thing to join a .

Be strong - Be brave

[springyrice]

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome!

Not too many female stutterers around. I saw a young woman stuttering on CNN (I think it was CNN) and I sat fascinated watching her. Didn't feel good of course that she stuttered but having never seen or listened to a female stutterer before it was just so new.

I've always been interested by the fact that statistically fewer women stammer. I just read on the British Stammering Association website that 3.5 to 4 men stammer for every woman.

Be strong - Be brave

This is a very good maxim to live by! :)
I've been trying to think this at work. I find it hard to answer the phone at work; I can barely say hello so I have avoided it for a long time. Thankfully there have always been other people around in the jobs I've had so I've tended to just hope someone else answers it, or pretend I'm doing something of earth-shattering importance so don't have the time to answer it :D . But last week I was in the office on my own a lot and it would have been wrong of me to just ignore it. So answered it and the only way I could do it was by saying "Hiya!" and not "Acquisitions Office, Tremough Campus" which is the standard greeting. Thankfully it was a internal call so it didn't really matter. And at least I finally did it! I think I can beat myself up a bit about saying things 'the correct way'. I keep telling myself that saying 'Hiya' when answering the phone while not the correct work greeting, is a great start considering I had previously just been ignoring the phone totally.

[bwelling]

I totally agree with difficulty answering the telephone. I wish there were tricks that worked everytime. I'm testing a new approach where I stutter openly. I haven't used it much. There are danger signals going off whenever I think about wanting to stutter. But I'm game. And I want to see if there's something on the other side of all the fear that I have of stuttering. :)

[bwelling]

Lucy, just wanted to say Hi. I liked what you said about changing the way you feel about yourself. Stammering/stuttering really can mess with a persons head.

[bwelling]

Lucy, just wanted to say Hi. I liked what you said about changing the way you feel about yourself. Stammering/stuttering really can mess with a persons head.

[meej]

hi Lucy, nice to have you here in the forum.

I'm just curious, do stutterers there in UK realy get the benefits stated here?

http://www.stammeringlaw.org.uk/benefits/ben.htm

[springyrice]

hi Lucy, nice to have you here in the forum.

I'm just curious, do stutterers there in UK realy get the benefits stated here?

http://www.stammeringlaw.org.uk/benefits/ben.htm

Hi Meej,

Yes. Although, sorry if I've misunderstood you, anyone at all is able apply for them if they are out of work.