Monday, September 28, 2015

September 24, 2014 Meeting Update

Hello everyone. About the September 24 meeting, I have good news & bad news. The good news is that we have a new member. Welcome Alice! Alice joins us on the advice of her speech therapist. She  is also to be commended for coming from a considerable distance to be at our meetings. The bad news is that there were a grand total of TWO people at the meeting. That's two as in 2; as in the square root of 4; as in the number of people in a set of twins...............And who were those two people? Right, yours truly & our new member Alice. I had to be there since I led the meeting. That means that not a single one of the regular members were present. A pox on all your houses! Seriously, folks, this group has been together for about 4 years & we have an active membership of about 20 people. Meetings are the heart & soul of the NSA. They're  where we all find our best support & camaraderie. There really wouldn't be an NSA as it was originally envisioned without the meetings. COME TO THE MEETINGS!

In these meeting updates I usually describe in some detail the introductory question, the topic for discussion, table topics if any & whatever else went on at the meeting. Since there were only TWO of us (have I mentioned there there were only TWO people present?), I think it's pointless to report on any of this. Alice and I did part of a regular meeting as best we could  & then just had a great conversation about movies. This way we at least got in some practice on our fluency techniques. I'm going to implement the same plan I had for this meeting for the next meeting I lead. I hope our new member Alice won't mind a partial repeat.

The next meeting is on Thursday, October 8, led by fearless leader Matt. 5:45 PM, Kaiser Permanente, 6 Willard, Irvine 92604. Be There! Don't make me come looking for you!

Sunday, August 2, 2015

July 23, 2015 Meeting Update

Seven people were present for the meeting, which is not too bad for this time of year. Thanks to all who attended. We had the pleasure of having with us Jeff Olevson, Regional Chapter Coordinator (RCC) of the Southwest & chapter leader of the San Jose, CA Chapter. It was great for me to meet Jeff in person, after communicating by email & phone for a couple of years. Jeff is a very energetic guy who is very much involved in the NSA. He's a true believer. As Southwest RCC, he covers  Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico & Utah. (Did I get this right, Jeff? And when are you going to start covering Alaska?) Jeff had a lot of informative & interesting things to say throughout the meeting. He said he's always enjoyed supporting other people, stutterers & non-stutterers alike.

We opened with introductions along with the question: "Who was your favorite teacher during your school years & why?" Responses included elementary, high school & college teachers. The responses mostly talked about a teacher who made the subject interesting, motivated students & was a fair teacher whose goal was not to fail people. There was general agreement that teachers are very important people in most people's lives - for better or worse.

Next, we had a topic for discussion - "Why do you come to NSA group meetings?" Most people talked about meetings providing a safe, comfortable place to talk about stuttering & other topics with other people who stutter. One member said he originally started coming to meetings after a mortifying experience where he had to read out loud in front of a class & was embarrassed with his stuttering. He later dropped the course because of this. He continues to come partly to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. A couple of people said they stutter the least at NSA meetings & have the least anxiety or embarrassment there when they do stutter. One person, a speech therapist, said she mainly comes to learn more about stuttering from the true experts. Another long time NSP/NSA member said he's been to hundreds of chapter meetings & comes for the social contact as much as anything else. (The NSA was originally the NSP - National Stuttering Project.) We talked about occasionally having a "socializing" meeting such as playing miniature golf. The point was made that the "socializing" meetings should not replace the regular meetings, but supplement them. Good point. The "socializing" meetings could become addictive. The long time member also attends the Riverside Chapter meetings (this guy is a real NSA junkie), where they have an annual "Holiday Party" & gift exchange - a once-a-year great socializing meeting.

We were running out of time, but started a second discussion topic: "Which speaking situations do you find the easiest?" Most of us have talked in meetings about which speaking situations are hardest, so this was a different perspective. This of course tied in with the above topic as most people who stutter find NSA meetings to be the easiest speaking situations. However, there were variations, such as one person who prefers to speak to people one on one & face to face, instead of from behind a barrier as she must do at her job. Another person said the easiest speaking situation for him was talking with his wife, with whom he either doesn't stutter, stutters without any embarrassment or anxiety or stutters but isn't aware that he's stuttering. This final point has always been an interesting one - i.e. if you stutter but are not aware that you're stuttering, is it the same as not stuttering at all? Do you sometimes "forget" that you stutter? These could be topics for another time.

That's all for now.Thanks again to Jeff for being with us. The next meeting is Thursday, August 13 (it's August already?!). Same time, same place led by master golfer, Ramones fan & martial artist extraordinaire Matt. Be there! 

Saturday, June 6, 2015

May 28, 2015 Meeting Update

Seven people attended the meeting, which was a gratifying turn out. A faculty member at Chapman University in the College of Educational Studies sat in with us. She specializes in working with people who stutter, both in the academic arena & in her private practice. She's also active in Friends, the National Association of Young People Who Stutter. This was a special treat for the rest of us, as it was very interesting & informative to get her insights into stuttering.

We started the meeting with introductions along with the question: Did you have any heroes when you were a kid? Responses included the Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy, Bruce Lee & Jean-Claude Van Damme (a two-for-one package deal there), Neil Armstrong, Arnold Palmer, the cellist Yo Ma, a four-in-one package deal of Pele the soccer player, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton & Jimi Hendrix, (what a band that would have made) & "my parents." The person who said the Lone Ranger remembered listening to him on the radio before watching him on TV. Yes, we do have some old timers in our group.

Next we had a topic for discussion: Do you remember when you first became aware that you stuttered?  Becoming aware of your stuttering as a child is a turning point for most people who stutter. It's at this point that we first label ourselves as stutterers & start seeing ourselves as we think others see us when we stutter. Most members said they became aware of their stuttering at about age 8 or 9. One said he's always been aware of his stuttering: he couldn't remember ever not being aware of it. Another member became aware of his stuttering when other kids made fun of him. One member said it was when he kept being taken out of class to see the speech therapist & he didn't know why. This was again at about age 8 or 9. Another said his earliest memories were not of the stuttering itself, but that he started hiding it in the 4th grade. Yet another member, who was born in Germany & later moved to South Korea & then Canada, felt he missed a "window  of opportunity" to conquer his stuttering at about age 8, but the changes in cultures & language brought it back.

We had a few minutes left, so we briefly talked on the topic: "How would you describe what you do when you stutter?" Maybe the most descriptive response was: "I get stuck on certain sounds."

That's all for now. Next meeting is on June 11.  Let's have another good turnout.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

April 23, 2015 Meeting Update

Yes, yes, it's been a month since this meeting, & there has been another since, but lately I've been up to my neck in alligators. It's eased somewhat: I'm now only, say, up to my navel in gerbils.

There were only 4 members present, which again was disappointing. For those of you who weren't there: listen for that knock on your door. There was a new member - welcome Justin! Justin said he's never met anyone else who stutters, which was interesting. He was encouraged to keep attending our meetings & the national convention each year, where he'd meet hundreds of other stutterers. We did introductions with the question: "What object or item that you now own would you most not want to lose"? Answers included: a sculpture I made, my bike, my smart phone or tablet & my wallet. (I was going to say my sanity, but that's not really an object, more of an abstract concept in my case.) 

We talked a little about the recent presentation by Nan Ratner & Shelley Brundage that our chapter hosted. It was a real treat for those present to have these 2 high powered researchers speak. Despite the limited amount of preparation time for this event, it came off well. Thanks again to all who helped organize it. 

Flyers were handed out for the then upcoming "Friends" all day event at Chapman University. Friends is the National Association for Young People Who Stutter. We talked on general stuttering topics, such as most other people don't care about your stuttering & how stuttering can effect career choice.

We also did "Table Topics." Topics included: What was your upbringing like concerning your stuttering?, hobbies, your favorite holiday & climate change. (This last one got a little political, which we usually try to avoid.) 

That's all for now. Next meeting is June 28, same time, same place, led by yours truly. Your attendance will be greatly appreciated, & please slow down at alligator & gerbil crossings.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

March 26, 2015 Meeting Update

There were 6 people at this meeting, including a new member - welcome Frederic Douglas! (Yep, that's him, & I must say he's aged well.) One member got a new job that he's very excited & pleased about - way to go, Robert!

We opened the meeting with introductions and the question: "What is one of your pet peeves?" Answers included: people at restaurants putting their chewing gum on their plate & leaving it there; large, loud groups of bikers roaring by you very close on the highway; taking up 2 parking spots with one car; not respecting other people's property (such as letting your car door hit the car next to you in a parking space); & people who don't return phone calls. We agreed that all of these people should be placed in permanent orbit around the planet Uranus.

Next, we played the ever popular & always exciting "I went to the beach!" game.  For those unfamiliar with it (although I don't see how that's possible), the game goes like this: someone starts off by saying: I went to the beach & I saw....something that starts with the letter A - for example an aardvark. (This actually was used, & not everyone knew what an aardvark is - where have these people been all their lives?) The next person repeats that & adds something beginning with the letter B, and so on.  Besides being fun and exercising your memory, for people who stutter the game brings up other interesting points. For example, one member said when concentrating very hard on a mental task that includes talking, one of two things sometimes happens: he either "forgets" he stutters & then doesn't stutter, or he does stutter but is not aware of it. This can also happen when talking about something that he's excited about. Not being aware of your stuttering is, of course, the way all stutterers were at some point when they were children. The point in your childhood when you become aware of your stuttering is very crucial. I believe Woody Starkweather at Temple University in Philadelphia has shown that if you start speech therapy with a child who stutters, but is not yet aware of his stuttering, the success rate is very high. Here's a link on a paper Starkweather wrote on preventing stuttering in young children: https://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/Parents/starkweather.html  One member said when he thinks too much about what he is about to say, he usually stutters more. However, when he's caught "off guard" and has to respond, he usually stutters less. We talked a little more on the general idea of thinking too much about our stuttering when we're talking.

Our group is working on having Nan Ratner  give a presentation on current research on stuttering on April 17. Dr. Ratner is an ASHA Fellow and Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has been actively involved in research and service within the stuttering community. Fearless leader Matt is working very hard on securing a space at the big Kaiser Permanente site at Sand Canyon, Irvine, for her talk.

Don't forget the "Friends Who Stutter Workshop" at Chapman University on 4/25/15. I previously sent you all emails with detailed information on this event.  For more information, please contact Loryn McGill: lorynmcgill@gmail.com  949-302-5681.

That's all for now. Next meeting is Thursday, April 9. Be there, & don't feed the aardvarks.

   


Saturday, March 7, 2015

February 26, 2015 Meeting Update

There were 5 people present at the meeting, which was a little disappointing. For those of you who weren't there, we know who you are. Appropriate measures will be taken.

We started with introductions along with the question: What was the last movie you saw? The movies mentioned were: Fury, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Hunger Games, American Sniper & Rome, Open City.  The member who saw American Sniper said it was very inspiring & made you "want to sign up." Another member said he read the book from which the movie was made, & was hesitant to see the movie as he thought a lot of "politically incorrect" parts of the book would be left out of the movie. This same member traveled to the NuArt theater in LA to see Rome, Open City. The movie was made in 1945, & the background is the brief "occupation" of Rome by German forces in 1944. It's in Italian with sub-titles. A great movie! If you get a chance, go see it. (That's an order.)

Next there was a discussion topic: Could a person who stutters be elected president of the United States?  The idea was to bring out other aspects of stuttering such as: Can a person exude confidence while stuttering? How do we think other people see us or think about us when we stutter? How much prejudice is there toward people who stutter? Is effective communication lessened by stuttering?
Of more practical interest: How would the debates be done? - Would the stuttering candidate be given more time? Could a stuttering president effectively deal with foreign leaders? Would the image of a stuttering commander in chief of the most powerful military force on earth be compromised? We talked a little bit about all of these. Three members said that yes, it was certainly possible for a person who stutters to be elected POTUS. The point was brought out that one can still communicate ideas even while stuttering. Another member said he didn't think a  person who stutters could make it through all of the nominating process, debates, etc.

We talked a little bit about the possibility of attending the meetings via Skype. There's a member who usually can't make it to the meetings in person, and wants to explore the Skype idea. One of the more technically minded members is going to look into this. Also, this same member is going to look into the idea of our group having a Facebook presence.

That's all for now. Next meeting is on March 12, led by fearless leader Matt. Be there, or bring a note from your doctor.