Stuttering
08-23-2004, 03:05 AM
Self-doubt and hope for stutterers at work
Therapy and public speaking practice can help overcome a speech impediment
By CHRISTINA PALASSIO
Special to The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - Page C3
Isabelle Parisella quit tourism school three years ago, turning her back on her dream job.
The reason: Her stutter made required class presentations a nightmare.
Ms. Parisella started stuttering as a child. In high school, she developed an anxiety disorder because of her speech impediment.
She chose to study tourism because she thought it would challenge her to improve her fluency. During her two years in the program, she covered up her stuttering so well that none of her classmates knew of her speech impediment.
Hiding it, however, took its toll, causing extreme anxiety and exhaustion. Finally, she dropped out.
"When I quit school, I knew inside of me that I didn't really want to quit," says Ms. Parisella, a 23-year-old Montreal resident.
Stuttering afflicts one out of every 100 adult Canadians, according to Thomas Klassen, an assistant professor of labour relations at York University who, himself a stutterer, studies the effects of the condition on professional situations.
He says the social stigma often leads to increased stress in relationships with colleagues and superiors -- with consequences that can result in career-curtailing decisions, and even bigger tragedy.
Five years ago, Pierre Lebrun, a former employee of the Ottawa transit company OC Transpo, shot four people to death in a bus garage before taking his own life. A stutterer, his suicide note made clear that his attack was revenge for being taunted by co-workers.
Often, stutterers let their lack of fluency guide their career choices, tending toward work that does not involve a lot of speaking, being on the phone or verbal interaction, Prof. Klassen says.
Jill Harrison, a speech language pathologist at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, says many patients tell her their dreams of becoming a pilot, a doctor or a lawyer were dashed because they feared their stutter would prevent them from communicating adequately.
"Many of them are picking careers in accountancy or computers because they don't involve a lot of talking," she says.
She sees many new patients when they are finishing their studies and job interviews loom. The fear -- that they are somehow less intelligent or competent than their more fluent peers -- can be paralyzing, she says.
Marc Demyttenaere, one of Ms. Harrison's former patients who works as a financial planner, says he would have liked to follow in the footsteps of two brothers who are doctors but never went for it because of the amount of speaking that would be involved.
"Most employers, and one has to be honest here, prefer to employ someone who doesn't have a speech impediment," Mr. Demyttenaere contends.
Prof. Klassen says it is often very difficult to prove that a candidate was denied a job or promotion because of a stutter. But he clearly believes it does cause problems.
"In our society there is an increasing acceptance of individual differences in the workplace, such as ual orientation and ethnicity. However, persons with disabilities are the ones who continue to encounter the strongest discrimination and stereotyping," he says.
More than 50 per cent of the complaints made to the Ontario Human Rights Commission are disability-based, says François Larson, the director of policy and education planning. These include a few cases of discrimination against stutterers but they were all settled before going before the tribunal.
Still, Prof. Klassen says, many stutterers often fault their lack of fluency and let it hold them back.
Doris Herusch, also a former patient of Ms. Harrison's, worked as an X-ray technician at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal for several decades. She decided against vying for management positions because of her stutter.
"I wouldn't have felt comfortable in management, though I think I would have been qualified to do it," she says. "Why put myself under all that speech pressure? I know I'm a hard worker and I'm conscientious, and I'm sure if I hadn't stuttered, I would have gone much farther, but the reality is that I do stutter. You're dealt these cards and you deal with it."
So how do stutterers deal with it? Ms. Harrison, who has been working with patients with the impediment for almost 30 years, says some are able to hide their difficulty in speaking from co-workers and others by using techniques like word substitution, where a word that is easier to say is used over one that may be more appropriate.
"Because they've stuttered all these years, they've developed this self-image as a stutterer, and also a lot of fear and avoidance behaviour," she says.
Many stutterers also turn to therapy, such as the kind Ms. Harrison offers. Her approach tackles both the physical and psychological components of stuttering, and involves both individual and group sessions.
By the end of a one-year program, she says, patients should be able to use the breathing and pacing techniques they have learned to control their stuttering in stressful situations, such as phone exchanges, presentations and interviews.
"It's definitely a profession where you don't cure a lot of people," Ms. Harrison says. "When you start to work, you have to come to grips with the fact that you're not going to bring people back to normal for the most part, but you can definitely improve their communication skills and quality of life in many ways."
Many stutterers also find other outlets to improve their speaking and boost their confidence. Following speech therapy with Ms. Harrison, Mr. Demyttenaere joined the Toastmasters, an international organization that s to help people improve their public speaking and communication skills.
While joining the club helped boost his confidence and communication skills, it was often daunting to get up and speak in front of his more at-ease peers. So last October, he and Ms. Herusch formed the Mo-Mo-Montreal Toastmasters Club, a group specifically for people who stutter.
The club meets bi-weekly at the Montreal General Hospital; members are expected to give speeches and tell jokes and stories, as well as provide constructive criticism for their peers.
"For people who've already done speech therapy, it's good practice," Mr. Demyttenaere says.
When it comes to job hunting or advancement, Prof. Klassen says it is usually better for candidates to be up-front about their impediment with employers.
After undergoing several kinds of speech therapy that helped her control her stutter almost completely, Ms. Parisella decided to return to university this fall to study written translation.
"Communication is a lot more than just speaking," Ms. Parisella says. "It also involves eye contact and hand movements. It's possible to be a good communicator even if you stutter."
And with confidence, stutterers find they don't let the impediment stand in their way.
"I had big obstacles before I started off in the financial planning business and I thought I'd never be able to do it," Mr. Demyttenaere says. "After I started, I saw that it really wasn't such a big difficulty at all, because if your clients have trust in you and you give good service, it doesn't make a big difference whether you stutter or not."
Ways to tackle the problem on the job
Thomas Klassen, an assistant professor of labour relations at York University and himself a stutterer, offers these suggestions to help stutterers and their colleagues overcome difficulties in the workplace:
Employers should:
Consider the whole employee and his/her performance, not only the stuttering.
Create a workplace atmosphere welcoming to differences.
Be a role model for others in your organization. For instance, don't rush to finish a stuttering employee's words or sentences. Ensure that staff know there is help available from management, human resources, health plans and counselling services.
Stutterers should:
Discuss the impediment with supervisors and colleagues instead of trying to hide it.
Explain that stuttering is not a sign of confusion or uncertainty.
Ask that others not finish words or sentences for you.
Resist the pressure from listeners to talk quickly and fluently.
Check out http://www.stutter.ca run by the Canadian Association for People who Stutter.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040818/CASTUTTER18/TPBusiness/General
Therapy and public speaking practice can help overcome a speech impediment
By CHRISTINA PALASSIO
Special to The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - Page C3
Isabelle Parisella quit tourism school three years ago, turning her back on her dream job.
The reason: Her stutter made required class presentations a nightmare.
Ms. Parisella started stuttering as a child. In high school, she developed an anxiety disorder because of her speech impediment.
She chose to study tourism because she thought it would challenge her to improve her fluency. During her two years in the program, she covered up her stuttering so well that none of her classmates knew of her speech impediment.
Hiding it, however, took its toll, causing extreme anxiety and exhaustion. Finally, she dropped out.
"When I quit school, I knew inside of me that I didn't really want to quit," says Ms. Parisella, a 23-year-old Montreal resident.
Stuttering afflicts one out of every 100 adult Canadians, according to Thomas Klassen, an assistant professor of labour relations at York University who, himself a stutterer, studies the effects of the condition on professional situations.
He says the social stigma often leads to increased stress in relationships with colleagues and superiors -- with consequences that can result in career-curtailing decisions, and even bigger tragedy.
Five years ago, Pierre Lebrun, a former employee of the Ottawa transit company OC Transpo, shot four people to death in a bus garage before taking his own life. A stutterer, his suicide note made clear that his attack was revenge for being taunted by co-workers.
Often, stutterers let their lack of fluency guide their career choices, tending toward work that does not involve a lot of speaking, being on the phone or verbal interaction, Prof. Klassen says.
Jill Harrison, a speech language pathologist at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, says many patients tell her their dreams of becoming a pilot, a doctor or a lawyer were dashed because they feared their stutter would prevent them from communicating adequately.
"Many of them are picking careers in accountancy or computers because they don't involve a lot of talking," she says.
She sees many new patients when they are finishing their studies and job interviews loom. The fear -- that they are somehow less intelligent or competent than their more fluent peers -- can be paralyzing, she says.
Marc Demyttenaere, one of Ms. Harrison's former patients who works as a financial planner, says he would have liked to follow in the footsteps of two brothers who are doctors but never went for it because of the amount of speaking that would be involved.
"Most employers, and one has to be honest here, prefer to employ someone who doesn't have a speech impediment," Mr. Demyttenaere contends.
Prof. Klassen says it is often very difficult to prove that a candidate was denied a job or promotion because of a stutter. But he clearly believes it does cause problems.
"In our society there is an increasing acceptance of individual differences in the workplace, such as ual orientation and ethnicity. However, persons with disabilities are the ones who continue to encounter the strongest discrimination and stereotyping," he says.
More than 50 per cent of the complaints made to the Ontario Human Rights Commission are disability-based, says François Larson, the director of policy and education planning. These include a few cases of discrimination against stutterers but they were all settled before going before the tribunal.
Still, Prof. Klassen says, many stutterers often fault their lack of fluency and let it hold them back.
Doris Herusch, also a former patient of Ms. Harrison's, worked as an X-ray technician at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal for several decades. She decided against vying for management positions because of her stutter.
"I wouldn't have felt comfortable in management, though I think I would have been qualified to do it," she says. "Why put myself under all that speech pressure? I know I'm a hard worker and I'm conscientious, and I'm sure if I hadn't stuttered, I would have gone much farther, but the reality is that I do stutter. You're dealt these cards and you deal with it."
So how do stutterers deal with it? Ms. Harrison, who has been working with patients with the impediment for almost 30 years, says some are able to hide their difficulty in speaking from co-workers and others by using techniques like word substitution, where a word that is easier to say is used over one that may be more appropriate.
"Because they've stuttered all these years, they've developed this self-image as a stutterer, and also a lot of fear and avoidance behaviour," she says.
Many stutterers also turn to therapy, such as the kind Ms. Harrison offers. Her approach tackles both the physical and psychological components of stuttering, and involves both individual and group sessions.
By the end of a one-year program, she says, patients should be able to use the breathing and pacing techniques they have learned to control their stuttering in stressful situations, such as phone exchanges, presentations and interviews.
"It's definitely a profession where you don't cure a lot of people," Ms. Harrison says. "When you start to work, you have to come to grips with the fact that you're not going to bring people back to normal for the most part, but you can definitely improve their communication skills and quality of life in many ways."
Many stutterers also find other outlets to improve their speaking and boost their confidence. Following speech therapy with Ms. Harrison, Mr. Demyttenaere joined the Toastmasters, an international organization that s to help people improve their public speaking and communication skills.
While joining the club helped boost his confidence and communication skills, it was often daunting to get up and speak in front of his more at-ease peers. So last October, he and Ms. Herusch formed the Mo-Mo-Montreal Toastmasters Club, a group specifically for people who stutter.
The club meets bi-weekly at the Montreal General Hospital; members are expected to give speeches and tell jokes and stories, as well as provide constructive criticism for their peers.
"For people who've already done speech therapy, it's good practice," Mr. Demyttenaere says.
When it comes to job hunting or advancement, Prof. Klassen says it is usually better for candidates to be up-front about their impediment with employers.
After undergoing several kinds of speech therapy that helped her control her stutter almost completely, Ms. Parisella decided to return to university this fall to study written translation.
"Communication is a lot more than just speaking," Ms. Parisella says. "It also involves eye contact and hand movements. It's possible to be a good communicator even if you stutter."
And with confidence, stutterers find they don't let the impediment stand in their way.
"I had big obstacles before I started off in the financial planning business and I thought I'd never be able to do it," Mr. Demyttenaere says. "After I started, I saw that it really wasn't such a big difficulty at all, because if your clients have trust in you and you give good service, it doesn't make a big difference whether you stutter or not."
Ways to tackle the problem on the job
Thomas Klassen, an assistant professor of labour relations at York University and himself a stutterer, offers these suggestions to help stutterers and their colleagues overcome difficulties in the workplace:
Employers should:
Consider the whole employee and his/her performance, not only the stuttering.
Create a workplace atmosphere welcoming to differences.
Be a role model for others in your organization. For instance, don't rush to finish a stuttering employee's words or sentences. Ensure that staff know there is help available from management, human resources, health plans and counselling services.
Stutterers should:
Discuss the impediment with supervisors and colleagues instead of trying to hide it.
Explain that stuttering is not a sign of confusion or uncertainty.
Ask that others not finish words or sentences for you.
Resist the pressure from listeners to talk quickly and fluently.
Check out http://www.stutter.ca run by the Canadian Association for People who Stutter.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040818/CASTUTTER18/TPBusiness/General