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.
