I stuttered in high school. It was not a hopeless, debilitating stutter, such as some people have had to deal with, but it was an embarrassment, particularly since I was most likely to stutter when I had something that I really wanted to say. I don't think I stuttered in elementary school. I don't think I stuttered at all until I entered high school. Maybe this is because, in grades K-8, I was in school with people I was related to, or grew up with while, in high school, we (Wallace students) were the minority, and I was mostly there with people I had met for the first time. I don't know if that's it, but that makes sense to me. I found that when I was doing small talk, or saying nonsense stuff, there was no problem with stuttering, but when I was trying to answer a question in class or if I had something that I really wanted to contribute to a conversation, I would sometimes stutter, and I hated that. When I was in 9th grade, the teacher who I liked the best, who also taught drama, asked me if I would be interested in playing a part in the Senior Class play. This seemed kind of odd, given that I was a Freshman, but I found that there were a few of us in the Senior Class play who weren't Seniors. In my case, they needed someone who looked very young, and I was young looking, even for my age. Anyhow, I didn't have a lot of lines but I had no trouble speaking them. I had already noted that I could read aloud without stuttering, perhaps because those weren't my words, and the same thing was true about reciting lines. I only stuttered when I had something to say and, as I have noted earlier, the stutter was mostly in the beginning. If I could get past that without being derailed by someone laughing at me, I could do fine. In the 10th grade, I joined a drama club; not a school one, although they used the school theater room, but a community drama club, and never stuttered while playing a role. As an adult, I eventually came to realize that I couldn't let that worry me so much. I taught Wednesday night Bible studies in church and, while I would sometimes stutter, the less I worried about it, the less it happened. Involved in Union stuff, I would often have to be on the spot in making an argument and I would sometimes stutter, but not often. Still later, when I became a paramedic and director of our EMS service, it became necessary for me to teach classes in order to recruit volunteers. I taught for Texas Southmost College, and later became the program chairman of the EMT program at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen and McAllen. By then, I rarely stuttered. Now, every now and then I will stutter, but not often.
Found it interesting that you didn't stutter whilst reading aloud (someone else's words) Makes sense as I've noticed this with singers, one in particular stuttered very bad but could sing with no problem at all
To me stuttering seems a thing of the past. I knew quite a few when I went to school but in all the classes Ive volunteered in with my kids and then my grandsons...I can't remember ever hearing anyone stutter. My cousin who is my daughter's age stuttered and I think speech classes helped him because he doesn't stutter now.
I find that quite interesting @Ken Anderson. I have known some stutterers in school and as an adult, one I befriended. He thought I was a good boxer and would talk to me about boxing. It seemed to me he stuttered less the better we knew each other.
Mel Tillis country singer stuttered...except when he sang. Maybe for him at least it was concentration on the words.
My mother's maiden name is LOYD. Many generations ago one of her ancestors was a stutterer. That branch of the family tree is known as LLOYD
My elder brother has a chronic stammer. He's had it all his life, well at least since he was a child. he's 72 years old now, and the stammer is as bad as ever. We learned from a young age ( he's 9 years older than the next one).. not to finish his sentences for him which we never did, and don't to this day...but sometimes it's like an eternity for him to get a word out. Like everyone who stammers he doesn't have it if he sings!!
Do any of you remember "Kkk Katy", the old-time "Stuttering Song"? It's now 100 years old. It goes like this: "K k k Katy, beautiful Katy, You're the only g g g girl that I adore! Then the m m m moon shines Over the cow shed, I'll be waiting at the k k k kitchen door!" YouTube has it! Hal
Since this just came up in conversation between my wife and me, I thought I'd bump this up. It hasn't been posted to in a few years, so perhaps some of you who came after 2018 might have had experiences with stuttering, or thoughts about it.
I only stuttered as a teen and young adult when under pressure. Cussing helped me stop stuttering except in cases I couldn't cuss like on the witness stand. I haven't been on a witness stand in many years so I have no idea if I still stutter or not. If I am ever on the stand again, I think I will cuss as getting reprimanded by the court is less embarrassing than stuttering.
As a personal observation, some folks simply have problems when they are trying to access then vocalize memory. There’s a break point somewhere similar to that pause and ‘um” that some people exhibit when speaking. The Howdy’s and how are ya’ s are trivial pieces of conversation which do not demand anything pertinent from memory just as reading is a trained process and again, doesn’t call upon the ability to access stored memory. It’s a “left brain” problem. Singing and the like originates from the right side of the brain which explains to some degree why some stutterers can sing versus talk in a smooth fashion.
It is interesting, as a child I didn't talk much and when I did, I stammered. Later, I stammered with the strain of embarrassment. Now I hesitate because I can't find the word I want until tomorrow!
They've found that having stuttering children talk or read to a dog helps them immensely. The dog is completely non-judgmental and already thinks you are the best speaker in the world.