I never thought about my stuttering as “covert stuttering” until you made this post. I always thought of it as being a closet stutterer. Covert stuttering is a more accurate definition of what I’ve been for... basically my entire life. I’ve been thinking recently about how my stuttering, and my reaction to it and struggle with it has shaped my personality and life decisions. I’ve finally been accepting it for what it is: a speech disability. I have two college degrees (in political science and liberal arts) but I still can’t talk right, I must need professional help, because I thought if I just did a lot of public speaking and talking on the phone it would go away. I was told I would grow out of it eventually, but I never did, and I’ve never even seen a speech therapist. I’ve flirted with fluency in very confident moments of my life, but I’ve never conquered my stutter completely to the point of feeling “normal” when I’m speaking or thinking about speaking. The anxiety and the isolation get to me.