UDPATE 4/13/11 — Check out Part 2 of this post! How to deal with stuttering and stutterers.
I don’t know if I really talked about this yet on my blog, but I do have a stuttering problem. I usually don’t complain about it, or bring it up because my stuttering isn’t that severe, so nobody really notices it. I’m very fortunate to only stutter 5% of my words a day, and when I do stutter it sounds like “w-wuh-wedding” and not “wuh-wuh-wuh-wuuuuuuuuhhhh-wedding”.
However, I AM bringing this topic up right now because my stuttering has gotten a lot worse, and that’s pretty weird. Pretty freaking weird. My stuttering has always been consistent. I’ve started ever since I could remember, and it has never gotten worse, nor it has ever gotten better…that is until recently. If I did my math right, it moved from 5% words a day, to about 10-20%. Also, “w-wuh-wedding” now turns into “wuh-wuh-wuh-wuhhhhh-wedding”.
Not only has it gotten worse, but also I can’t speak Vietnamese without stuttering severely and I can’t say things that start with a “W” sound in English. I can’t even say “one”.
Last night, I went to bed but couldn’t sleep because I was so concerned about my speech problem. So during the night, I sat upright on my bed and decided to say a couple of sentences to myself that started with a “w” sound just to see if I can go without stuttering, and boy was I wrong.
I tried to say my home address, but could never quite get passed the very first number of the address because it started with a “one”.
“Yes, my address is wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwone.”
Hahah oh noooooooooooo!!!! Gosh, I found it so entertaining and pathetic at the same time, I kept on laughing, plus I’ve NEVER been THAT bad before!
Now before anyone tries to give me advice, I’d like to point out that thinking about the word first and then saying it carefully, is not the solution. It’s like telling a handicap to think about walking, and then have them try to get up and walk. We don’t stutter because we don’t think before we talk, we’re just incapable of saying certain words at a certain time.
I hate it, and my family always does that to me. When I’m in the middle of stuttering, someone, SOMEONE will always say, “Stop, and think about what you’re going to say. Calm down.”
Dude, I’m not in a rush so shut your fucking trap! The best way to help someone with a stuttering problem is to shut up and let him or her finish trying to say the word, no matter how painful it looks.
Well anyway, last night, I found a way to prevent most of my stuttering. I just have to contort my face, especially my lips, and say the word in a combination of a Mexican accent and Count Dracula’s. Sure I may look funny as hell, but shit, I don’t stutter, AT ALL!
Also, because I usually don’t stutter when I sing, I can also get into like, a rhythm when I’m talking. It’s not singing, but it’s definitely close.
Isn’t stuttering just plain funny? The cause of it is just a huge mystery and the ways to hide it is just baffling. Why do I stop stuttering when I’m singing? Or why do I stop stuttering when I make funny faces and talk with a ridiculous Hispanic-Count Dracula accent?
UDPATE 4/13/11 — Check out Part 2 of this post! How to deal with stuttering and stutterers.
Yeah, stuttering sure is a mystery. Well, at least you found a way to prevent it. Even if you’re talking like Dracula. It will be good for Halloween?
I have problems with talking too fast that I mumble a lot. And some words I say make me sound like I’m southern..but then again I’m originally from Michigan, and all these Floridians tell me I have a Michigan accent. Whatev..
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Hey, totaly random BUT I stutter too! Probably only about 2% of my words a week haha but I definitely notice it. I don’t know what letter I have a problem with though… I think with me it’s because I’m trying to say all these things at once LOL. Maybe that’s not stuttering then. I will have to take notice of it when I do it and record it down. I also speak like a sarcastic man… but that’s a different story
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I had a family friend who stuttered as a kid and then his school had some special program which fixed his stuttering.
Music therapy is so interesting. At the special school I was working at for a while, they used it to get the students to move. Kids who were normally stiff in their movements suddenly relaxed during exercise when music was being played.
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Man, I’m glad I don’t stutter cos I talk fast and stuttering would render me incomprehensible to people!
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I was going to blog about my stuttering problem too!! Except mine isn’t as bad as yours.. I only tend to stutter a lot when I try to talk too fast which I obviously can’t (since I start stuttering) so it’s entirely my fault. =S
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hmm i don’t stutter but i have another problem where i am thinking something but i don’t say it. a lot of people think i am snobby but it’s because i am either a) shy or b) slow… i would trade both for a small stutter any day
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Aw, I know I’ve only just got here, but this post was pretty funny. I thought it pretty common for people to completely lose their stuttering/accents when they are singing. Weird, no? Maybe it’s because you use your muscles differently when you sing, or your breathing?
Anyway, you have a lovely blog, I really like your layout!
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I watched an MTV show about this. It was umm True Life: I Stutter and I saw how it affected each individual socially and emotionally. It was so hard for these individuals to talk in public without people looking at them strangely and I can only imagine how it is for you. Im happy that you have been able to pretty much keep it under control for the most part, but y’know – its still always there.
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