commentr/StutterJune 14, 2022

Content

I'm 20 in my 3rd year on college and let me tell you my friend, it gets better. I was in your SAME shoes all the way until actually, 12th grade. From as early as I can remember, my classmates would ALWAYS pick on me to popcorn read and I would act like I forgot my book at home/ lost where we were in the book/ and try and go to the bathroom and plan around it... maybe this is why I'm so good at critical thinking... so thats a plus. all jokes aside, it was terrible. Grades dropped \*not terribly\* but my A's turned into B's, B's to C's, etc. It was frustrating. Luckily, my mindset changed, and I started to find ways to work around it. Talk to your teachers man, tell them your situation, I'm in college and I still tell my professors I stutter, and they completely understand. I guess they felt accommodating because my written assignments were A1, best in the class, because I had to compensate for my lack of speaking. Luckily year 1 and 2 of college were 100% online, but this past semester was my first in person semester and it was good. It was a class where ALL we did was verbal presentations. I found a way to work around speaking, I would do the written work and they would speak for me. Which would sometimes be the whole week, an hour a day, 5 hours worth of talking I avoided, while getting an A :) My group was great, They were very willing to speak for me, and we even became fast friends. We as stutterers think " oh shit, people are probably always judging us" think we are the r word, etc. I'm not a looker too so I don't have anything but my words to show for myself... Kidding... ​ But enough of me man, it all comes down to mindset. If you keep telling yourself you're "pathetic" and your stuttering defines you as a person... That's not the case. Mindset my friend and finding ways to let others know, for example, talking to your teachers about your stutter/stammer maybe before or after class one day and just make sure they're "aware" of it is the best advice I can give. They'll see you took the initiative and are being proactive and trying the best you can, etc. But I hope your fluency starts to improve too man :) It gets better though, trust me, and it all comes down to how you view yourself/your stuttering. Don't be defined by the obstacles you've been given; be defined as the person that overcame them, always remember.

Themes

School & WorkCoping & AdvocacyIdentity & Disability

Subthemes

School & Academic LifeSelf-Advocacy & BoundariesAcceptance & Pride