Stuttering, the Military, and Other Jobs After College
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Stuttering, the Military, and Other Jobs After College Hey everyone, My significant other is finishing their undergraduate degree this year and has wanted to join the military for years, however they are terrified that their stutter will disqualify them. They block and stutter frequently within each sentence when stressed, and nonexistent-moderate when relaxed. They developed their stutter as a young teen after moving countries and a few years after a traumatic divorce. We do their speech-therapy exercises together, but sometimes have periods of time where they get depressed about it and we stop. I've encouraged them to see a therapist perhaps just to feel more confident about having a stutter, but they say if they see a therapist they might be disqualified for mental health reasons caused by living with a stutter. I've seen various messages on threads about stuttering and the military, but most posts seem to say that its possible to serve, just maybe not in communication-heavy positions. My significant other wants most to be in a combat position, but I believe he would be happy just to be in any position. Obviously it is a million times harder to be the person with the stutter, but I also feel lost many times in what to say when they are feeling depressed about job prospects. I've tried to encourage them to explore back-up jobs while remaining positive about the prospect of joining the military. It's just that they have dreamed of joining for so long that all other jobs seem like failure to them, and they know that if they didn't stutter that they would be perfect for the military. Really, they know so much about the military! I guess I'm just looking to see if there are any people out there who have been in the military with a non-mild stutter and what their advice is. Or, alternatively, if there are any people with stutters who are in civilian careers that have to do with the military, international security, or something similar (AKA requiring talking and presenting). Perhaps if my significant other knew others like them were out there they might feel less stressed/depressed about life after college. Thanks!