Stuttering and success in life

[Sup2u]

(Last one...for now)
I stutter, but I try let my stutter keep me from anything I want to do. A great fear I have regarding stuttering is that it will hold me back in my quest for success. Are any of the stutters on this forum successful in life? Has stuttering ever prevented you from a career oppurtunity or relationship? With stuttering what careers have you chosen?

[Standingtall]

I like to think I am. I have an career, been in forestry for 20 years. Got a forestry diploma but it took me a few more extra years to get it. I guess my stutter played an part, because afraid to ask certain questions. I have been married for over 12 years and know my wife for 18 years. I have an 4x4 truck and a van. Travelled all over western Canada and been to a few places in the states. Hope this helps.

[Sup2u]

Thats good that you were able to find a career that you enjoy doing

[Vermillion]

Stuttering does affect your success in life. Why bother denying something that is so obvious.

[Perad]

Stuttering does affect your success in life. Why bother denying something that is so obvious.

I think it depends on what you are doing. It will have some effect. But how much depends on you, if you speak up you will get just as far as a fluent person in almost any profession. The problem is that a stutterer often doesn't have the confidence to speak up.

vermillion what do you do?

Anyway I personally want to be a freelance webdesigner and i now i am pretty upbeat after getting good responces to my post. http://www.webdesignforums.net/showthread.php?t=23126

I think that if i continue working as hard as i am now i will be very successful as a web designer :)

[Vermillion]

Currently 18, working part-time at Dairy Queen (fastfood restaurant)

In the future, I want to be a pharmacist or doctor.

You want to become a web designer eh? It's funny how so much of the stuttering population goes into the IT field, yet some people believe "if you speak up you will get just as far as a fluent person in almost any profession"
:)

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic.

[Perad]

In the future, I want to be a pharmacist or doctor.

Good luck with achieving this.


I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic.

You are also being negative. In all skill based professions, be it building, architechture, webdesign, management, a stuttering person is on an almost level playing field. I say almost level because there are one or two people who will try to hold you back because of your speech.

In jobs where communication is important, i.e. secretary, public speaker, call center person then you obviously are at a disadvantage.

[Sup2u]

I agree with Perard. We can do basically any job just as good as someone who does not stutter if we put our minds to it. Except the jobs listened in the last post. Anyone who would hold us back would probably hold anyone back because he is cyincal and would do it to advance himself. The stutter can only get as far as he believes he can. If you give up because you stutter then the disability defeats you.

[studentdoc]

I went into online business out of high school because of my stutter (subconsciously). Well, I said screw that and pursued my dream of becoming a doctor. I had to interview to get in - and I thought that was where I'd hit a dead end - and I got into all 4 places I interviewed at. On top of that, one of my classmates stutters a lot worse than I do and he's doing just fine. Don't let this shit hold you back.

[Sup2u]

Thats really great to hear student doc

[studentdoc]

I must admit though that I am really hard on myself lately and really down because my stuttering has gotten A LOT worse since I started (due to caffeine? less sleep? anxiety on tests? stress? All?). It never got to me as much as it did now (this is why I'm looking for a program to at least get some breathing techniques, or whatever). Boo :(

[Jose]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. My name is Jose and I am new here. Studentdoc I read your post about interviewing for schools and would like you to know I found it very uplifting. For the past year I have been hesitating about applying for graduate school and feel very inspired to do it at the moment because of your post. As far as the lack of sleep, caffine, and stress I know alittle about that from my undergraduate studies. Remember your not only one feeling that stress. Every one else at school feels it too and a alot of those people are probably going to drop out. If your looking for a confidence boost think about the accomplishment that comes with succeeding where many fluent people have failed. I would also recomend having some fun sometimes you have to forget about school and jusy enjoy whatever it is you like to do.

[studentdoc]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. My name is Jose and I am new here. Studentdoc I read your post about interviewing for schools and would like you to know I found it very uplifting. For the past year I have been hesitating about applying for graduate school and feel very inspired to do it at the moment because of your post. As far as the lack of sleep, caffine, and stress I know alittle about that from my undergraduate studies. Remember your not only one feeling that stress. Every one else at school feels it too and a alot of those people are probably going to drop out. If your looking for a confidence boost think about the accomplishment that comes with succeeding where many fluent people have failed. I would also recomend having some fun sometimes you have to forget about school and jusy enjoy whatever it is you like to do.

Jose - I'm very happy to read your post. I am happy that mine helped you. You are absolutely right. People have already dropped out and they were fluent. It is true that I should look at progressing where fluent students are failing. This does help my confidence a lot and never realized it - thank you. As for graduate school, it would not be a problem at all for you. I had 1 interview (my first one where I was extremely nervous) and I could barely speak. It was BAD I thought and I felt like absolute crap that day - I went to the bar at the airport on my way home and drank a lot. Well, I emailed the interviewers and thanked them and the head interviewer wrote back " we were very impressed with your interview and I have a good feeling you will be accepted" and I was. So - people apparently do not look at this problem as severely as we do. I confess, after that interview I did take 1/2 an Ativan before the future interviews to relax a little and prepared for every question they might ask (and they asked new stuff) and I did well. Please do apply and go forward with your dream. Sometimes I think to myself what the heck am i doing here when I have to deal with patients soon and physicians training me in a "army" way where they are extremely rough on you - critizing, putting you down, working you, putting you on the spot in front of a group of people to present a quick detail that he knows you wouldn't know, etc. while being awake for the past 22 hours. But in the end, I see everybody has to go through this same stress like you said - and they will understand hopefully. My biggest problem is that I am CONSTANTLY thinking about this problem lately - and I feel at such a disadvantage because other students don't even have to worry about this. I am constantly worried about next weeks interactions with patients, will I screw up, etc. while other students are focused on their STUDYING. But honestly, as far as "being able to" - we are definately able to. Thanks for your post again. Back to studying :eek:

[Jose]

I'm just glad I could help studentdoc and I have also been to many a bar in my time for similar reasons (If anyone else is reading this remember to DRINK RESPONSIBLY! :D). There is something else that I have been wondering and I asked it on the general forum as well. Do you think alot of people turn to this forum because they are in a moment of crisis and then when it is over they stop showing up because they find it difficult to seriously address their stutter, except for when they feel like the world is crumbling around them. If that is the case? I have been thinking about putting up a post on both forums encouraging people to do the opposite. What do you think?

[happy7117]

I can't even begin to explain the frusteration and anger the stutter thing has caused me.. and knowing
I don't have a couple thou for a stutter device
intensifies the frusteration...I have gone
through the traditional thearapy- and for me
it did nothing for me---

And trying to accept it to me means it's ok go
through life being misunderstood and seen as not an
average regular speaker...

I am person who would like go out with a girl
and go to places that are fun so badly i can practicly visualize it in my head-- but the extent of my stutter
forces me not to...its like a mental barrier..

I have not gotten any better- and still stutter
badly-- and my patience to trying to get a device
has grown very thin..I don't have thosuands of dollars..

I have tried to maintain a positive attitude in spite of the stutter thing, but it's very difficult when you
can barely be understood in every speaking
situation....

I cant explain the anger i am going through--
and the urge for a device is extremely overwhelming...

Just looking at others who have found these devices helpful makes me very jealous--

[dave]

Happy, I have not met a single person who said a device helped them. You are always going to see people on tv who stutter and use a device and the device is portrayed as a miracle cure and the ideal solution for all people who stutter. That is not the case. It is just marketing and the distributor trying to push a product.

How many of you saw the three wishes episode?..... Exactly.

Happy, I bet I stutter as much if not worse than you. I'm 85% fluent with severe blocking. You should consider getting stuttering therapy from a competant speech therapist (those are hard to find). And getting therapy for 30 minutes a week most likely be a waste of time and money. Considering that in my area speech therapy is $300-500 an hour.

[Antman5434]

Currently 18, working part-time at Dairy Queen (fastfood restaurant)

In the future, I want to be a pharmacist or doctor.

You want to become a web designer eh? It's funny how so much of the stuttering population goes into the IT field, yet some people believe "if you speak up you will get just as far as a fluent person in almost any profession"
:)

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic.

I think it's wrong for stutterers to go into the IT field because of the fact that they you don't have to say much or are some what isolated. My self I'm in the IT field because i enjoy working with computers which is something that i've doing since i was a teen and also learnig about new technologies

[dave]

What do you do antman?

[Antman5434]

What do you do antman?

Database management, analyze/break down Territory Summary Reports

[dave]

I want a job in the IT industry as a computer programmer. Although I am still in highschool, I look at monster.com for job listings and all of them include excellent verbal communication skills as a job requirement. Which is a bit discouraging.

[studentdoc]

Happy - what Dave says is very true. Those devices are not good for the most part. They work at first because they're a distractor and then stop working. Don't be so down about not having money for that - it is not the cure. There is no cure and you will learn how to deal with it for now. Although this is bad advice in the long term, for the short term, use substitutes for words, start the sentence with something easy etc. if your stuttering is bad as holding you back from the world. With other types of therapy, you'll be asked not to do this, but if its your only option, try it out.

Guys - we have a guy in our school who has a major Tourette's problem. He walks around the halls screaming out bad words, telling girls "shut up you " etc. He is the TOP of his class (he is in the physician assistant program). And he works in groups ALL THE TIME and is doing great. His problem is worse. He yells out of nowhere. And he gotten so far. Keep your heads up.

[studentdoc]

I'm gonna stay off these boards for a while because I find myself stuttering much worse when I visit here. It just drills it into my head that I have the problem whereas sometimes I forget and it gets a little better temporarily. I will be back when I hit the next wall, probably ing about how miserable I am. Until then.

[Shutter Bug]

I'm a student in university, and I'm really lucky to have a great Skills4Life system on hand in the uni- they can arrange it so you can substitute any oral work like presentations for a written piece. My stammers never gotten better; sometimes I can control it if I REALLY try but it never lasts long. I've found tricks to deal with certain letters like vowels, such as treating them as if I'm just making a noise (eeee...ooooo), which helps me "breathe out" the word and that often flows into a perfect sentence if I speak gently, but if its a word started with any other letter, tackling it's a constant battle.

I just wanna jump in real quick and say I'm happy I found this forum site- I've never met another stutterer before. I'm really sorry for everyones struggles but its nice to see I'm not as alone as I thought.