Transition to Acceptance

[ElectricVersion]

Just wondering if anyone has had an experience where at some point in their life they made a conscious (or semi conscious) effort to switch into a "new mode" and accept that fact that you stutter rather than trying to run from it. i'll explain further...

when i was younger, i became the master of communicative stealth as many of us do. we learn effective tricks to get out of speaking situations, our vocabulary increases and we learn new words to substitute with. we can spot an uncomfortable speaking situation a mile away and find a way out of it.
i did this for years, and i was great at it! i wasn't helping myself any in the long run, but it was survival, i'm sure many of you know exactly what i am talking about.

but a number of years ago (i'm 32 now) i sort of made this choice to stop substituting words, and to stop avoiding situations. i felt like i had to much to say to let it get lost in evasion tactics. so i openly blocked like crazy with people, just stubborn enough to get out what i wanted to say without changing my language so it was easier to say. openly "announced" as casually as i could that i had a speech impediment. tried allowing it to come into conversation and not treat it like it's so scary. i think it helped me deal with things better. but it also made me more "comfortable" with the fact that i stuttered. so in a way, am i progressing less because i "gave up the fight" , or am i in a better position to truly progress now that i am (slightly) more at ease with the situation? don't get me wrong. sometimes my speech problem makes me want to die, want to give up, just quit everything. but somehow i bounce back each time. *sigh*

so... anyone ever have one of these "descisions to accept"... and if so, what effect has it had on you?

- kip

[peikayla]

I am 17 years old and I have accepted my stuttering! I don't try and stop it from happening or side step around it. I have stuttered since I could first talk, and I had 2 friends from grades one to the day before grade 8. One of them called me up and told me they hated my guts and the other one stopped talking to me. My teachers, fellow students, and even my family picked on me and made me feel like crap(they still do). I went through grade eight with no friends and fell into a depression. When I moved on tho the Jonior high in grade nine my stuttering had disappeared a week before and I made friends and had a childhood. My best friend and music teacher Kirk White was the first person to treat me like a real peson. He is 36 but will always be my closest friend and he already no's that LOL(he told me). My stuttering returned 3days before I started grade 11 and I was terrified of what he would think and was scared about what my other teachers and friends would think. Some of the people who I thought were my friends left me and so stayed. My teachers understood and became my friends as well. Kirk Was the last one I Told I was avoiding talking to him and seeing him and he thought I was mad at him. He Cornered me and I told him. We had along talk over Wendy's food and he told me that no matter what happened he would always be there. Since then I have accepted THe fact that I stutter and have been researching the impediment and helping other young stutterers around the world. Check out my website and see what I mean and leave me a shout out or sign my guestbook. Thanks! www.stutteringsupport.piczo.com

And It have been a better person because of it and people seem more comfortable when I speak because they see that I am. I am enjoying life more and Kirk Is very proud of me(you can read some more about me and see his picture and other things about me on my personal website www.kaylamacleanspage.piczo.com )

Hope this is what you wanted e-mail me sometime at peikayla@yahoo.ca
:)