- Best friend
I�ve known my best friend for about 11yrs. And when we first met I was the one, who wouldn�t discuss my stuttering with him, because I was embarrassed. Until I trusted him, I didn�t say much about it, at all.
Before we met he used to say this phrase as a joke, �What, did I stutter?� but, he wouldn�t say it around me. Then he asked one day if I would be offended by it. I told him I wasn�t offended and thank him for asking. It was the first time someone was courteous enough to ask, before they said something that would hurt me.
Ever since, he has stood up for me, when someone has tried to pick on me because of my stuttering. I credit my tremendous improvement in my fluency to him, because he made me realize that it is not the end of the world if I stutter!
- Parents and Family
My family was pretty good at not making a big deal about my stuttering when I was first learning to speak. They were told by my speech therapist that they should do this, so I wouldn�t think I was different from any other child. The hardest thing for me to realize was to not let them finish my sentences for me. I was in my late teens when I was finally convinced that I shouldn�t let them. Even though I wanted and did let them occasionally do it.
- Work
I�ve been in customer service jobs all my life. I�ve been forced to talk one on one with customers. The biggest change, probably do to my maturity level, was this last year and a half, when I started working for EDS (Electronic Data Systems). Do to the overwhelming amount of time spent on the phone and the professionalism needed for the job, I was not able to take short cuts that I new could jeopardize this. Which I�m extremely happy with the fact that I was forced to be in this situation, because, I didn�t allow my stuttering to interfere with any aspect of the job. Actually, it forced me to be a better worker, because, I didn�t allow the monster to control me.
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