Can we talk about those of us with very severe stutters?
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Can we talk about those of us with very severe stutters? I feel like we are underrepresented, even in this community. The “be positive,” “don’t care about it,” “don’t think about it,” “no one cares,” “its only bad because you think about it,” etc, that can (apparently) do wonders for people with mild or moderate stutters do not work for us. Before anyone hits me with more of the “Nobody cares that you stutter!” crap, that is not my problem. I wish I had a normal stutter with minor difficulties that didn’t actually prevent me from being able to speak. My stutter is a block stutter, and it’s so severe that it often takes me 20-30 seconds to say a single word. Sentences can take minutes. I suspect my stutter is neurological, no therapy or techniques have ever helped. I stutter when alone, I stutter when talking to my cat, I stutter when talking to toddlers. I don’t care what people think. I care about the fact that I quite literally cannot talk at all. I would be over the moon if it just took me a little longer to get my words out or was only worried about what people think about me like most stutterers, but instead it’s a fight to get a single word out. It’s a fight to get every single word out. I literally cannot talk to anybody. I am 25 years old and my mom has to come with me to the doctor to explain my symptoms to him because I can’t do it myself. I was randomly hospitalized once, alone, and couldn’t talk to the ER doctor. They had to give me pen and paper, and they thought my speech was a result of my injuries. At the dentist, I pray they will not start a conversation or ask me anything other than “yes” or “no” questions. It’s not that I don’t want to or that I have anxiety or that I’m afraid of judgement - I straight up cannot talk. It takes me 10 seconds minimum to get one word out. At best, I can say a few words in a row with zero blocks, but then it’s back to blocking on every single word. Sometimes I block on each syllable in a word. I’ll never be able to get a job that isn’t a WFH job. I’ll never be able to place a phone call. I currently make $10 an hour working from home. It’s all I can do with my disabilities. I’m might be able to get disability benefits due to my stutter and another disability I have, because with both of my disabilities combined it excludes pretty much every job. People like me with really severe stutters usually find success doing physical labor jobs, but due to my other disability I can only work desk jobs. But desk jobs almost always involve talking. I have years of speech therapy records from childhood stating how severe my blocks are and proving that no treatment has helped. But SSDI benefits aren’t enough to live on. I’ve had people suggest to me that I should just be a stay at home wife (in this economy??) and it makes me laugh every time. I’ve never dated because of my stutter, can you imagine going on a first date with someone you can barely even talk to? Even if I found a guy who stutters, his wouldn’t be as bad as mine. Plus I have all these facial tics that happen when I try to get words out that definitely aren’t attractive at all. And even if I did get married, how am I supposed to raise my children when I can’t even teach them how to talk? They would be so delayed because of me. I guess I just wanted to make this post to vent that a severe stutter absolutely can ruin your life. I’m tired of seeing all the optimism around here from people with minor stutters who never have any significant issues because of it. I’m tired of all claims that it’s not a big deal and it’s our mindset. I would think that way too if I could actually get a word out. There is a major difference between taking an extra second or two to say a word every so often compared taking 10+ seconds on 90% of the words you say. NOBODY has the patience or time for that, and even if they did, it is so exhausting to have to deal with yourself. I’ve tried all the blocking techniques and absolutely nothing works. I have accepted that something must be wrong with my brain and that I will never escape this. The only way I’ll be able to afford to live after my mother passes is if I inherent the house (which isn’t paid off yet and won’t be for at least decade, so not a guarantee) and keep working this $10 an hour job for the rest of my life (currently saving as much as I can while I still have the luxury of being able to save my income) while the cost of living rises and rises.