If it wasn’t for speech therapy I would have never been educated about what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t speak properly. I see speech therapy as more a self help guide so I could explore my condition, get the framework setup so I could put in the hard work and tame my issues. I spent years seeing a speech therapist 2 times a week and if it wasn’t for that, I would definitely not be anywhere as fluent as I am now. It was frustrating for years because it felt like I was getting nowhere and high school was especially difficult. Confidence and acceptance definitely help but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. The way I see it, speaking for us isn’t passive like it is for everyone else. We have to be active and keep honing our skills so that we can become and then stay fluent. It’s hard work, it can be exhausting at times (or even all the time for those with very severe blocks)