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Articles
Dealing with life's curve balls as one who stutters
Written by Richard Lutman
Saturday, 12 January 2013 04:52
In life we are going to be thrown many challenges and hurdles to overcome – some positive, some not so positive. When one's life is in a state of crisis or chaos, one's stutter can become more noticeable. This indeed has been the case for me as in recent months i've been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The adapting and the adjustments needed when one has this disease, in conjunction with my stutter, has been a challenge to say the least. Stuttering in itself can be a challenge when compounded with the day to day stressors that go along with our ability to communicate. These challenges might cause one to become depressed, or down on ones' self. But, in fact, it has done the opposite for me. As I adapt to the challenges of dealing with this disease I am reminded of something a victim of assault I once counseled said, "you can go a week without food a day without water but you can't go a second without hope". This is so true for all of us to remember – no matter the hurdle or the challenge, hope above all else must prevail. Without hope we have nothing....
Richard Lutman lives in Stratford and is a CSA board member.
David Shield’s novel, Dead Languages, is an intensely personal narrative about the life of Jeremy Zorn, growing up in San Francisco in the 60s and 70s, who happens to have a severe stutter. The book opens with memories of formative experiences from his early childhood, mainly the strong personalities of his highly intellectual and verbose family, particularly his mother.
This is a summary and review, not a republishing, of the article "Changing adolescent attitudes toward stuttering", by Ken St. Louis and Timothy Flynn. From the Journal of Fluency Disorders, 2011, 110-121.
This review was originally published in the 2011 Winter edition of CSA Voices.
This article provides an excellent overview of how a survey technique,the International Project on Attitudes towards Human Attributes(IPATHA), can be used to determine the results of public education efforts aimed at improving attitudes toward stuttering.
In the study, researchers Timothy Flynn and Ken St. Louis arranged for a young person who stutters to deliver a humorous and informative talk about stuttering to classes of high school students. They also arranged for video presentations about stuttering, geared for this age group, to be made. In a third scenario, students were exposed to both oral and video presentations. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the attitudes of high school students towards stuttering could be improved by this exposure.
Disability Studies is a relatively recent field in academia, yet today almost all of Canada's major universities have degree programs in this area. In what will be the first of a series, this article will summarize a paper by a student in a Disabilities Studies program who has specialized in the topic of stuttering. The student featured here is Joshua St. Pierre, an MA candidate in philosophy at the University of Alberta. His paper is entitled "The Construction of the Disabled Speaker: Locating Stuttering in Disability Studies."
Review of Yoga for Stuttering: Unifying the Voice, Breath, Mind & Body to Achieve Fluent Speech, by J.M. Balakrishnan
I have been taking Yoga for about five years now, and have found it a very enjoyable form of exercise. Whereas I normally avoid going to the gym, yoga has held my interest for quite some time now and although I still cannot do a headstand or bend backwards all the way I have notice progress. That is why I was excited to see this book, Yoga for Stuttering. Although skeptical, I ordered it mainly out of curiosity.
In life we are going to be thrown many challenges and hurdles to overcome – some positive, some not so positive. When one's life is in a state of crisis or chaos, one's stutter can become more noticeable. This indeed has been the case for me as in recent months i've been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The adapting and the adjustments needed when one has this disease, in conjunction with my stutter, has been a challenge to say the least. Stuttering in itself can be a challenge when compounded with the day to day stressors that go along with our ability to communicate. These challenges might cause one to become depressed, or down on ones' self. But, in fact, it has done the opposite for me. As I adapt to the challenges of dealing with this disease I am reminded of something a victim of assault I once counseled said, "you can go a week without food a day without water but you can't go a second without hope". This is so true for all of us to remember – no matter the hurdle or the challenge, hope above all else must prevail. Without hope we have nothing....
David Shield’s novel, Dead Languages, is an intensely personal narrative about the life of Jeremy Zorn, growing up in San Francisco in the 60s and 70s, who happens to have a severe stutter. The book opens with memories of formative experiences from his early childhood, mainly the strong personalities of his highly intellectual and verbose family, particularly his mother.
This is a summary and review, not a republishing, of the article "Changing adolescent attitudes toward stuttering", by Ken St. Louis and Timothy Flynn. From the Journal of Fluency Disorders, 2011, 110-121.
Disability Studies is a relatively recent field in academia, yet today almost all of Canada's major universities have degree programs in this area. In what will be the first of a series, this article will summarize a paper by a student in a Disabilities Studies program who has specialized in the topic of stuttering. The student featured here is Joshua St. Pierre, an MA candidate in philosophy at the University of Alberta. His paper is entitled "The Construction of the Disabled Speaker: Locating Stuttering in Disability Studies."
Review of Yoga for Stuttering: Unifying the Voice, Breath, Mind & Body to Achieve Fluent Speech, by J.M. Balakrishnan