I will not disclose my stutter! I will not use self-deprocating humore about my stutter! I will not use my new "stutter more easily" technique such as a pull-out with people who have seen me stutter for years! I will not tell anyone that I have joined a stuttering support group or that I attend speech therapy! The self-sabotaging beliefs, that originate in projecting on our listeners, keep us from emancipation from stuttering.

We have all experienced painful moments of stuttering during which we formed rigid beliefs. Rigid beliefs are the ones that we think are gospel, no one can talk us out of being under the spell of the belief we have, and we rationalize these toxic thoughts.

What is a belief? L Michael Hall, of Neurosemantics, taught me that a belief = words + affirmation. An example would be "As a speech pathologist I cannot stutter..a potential client will judge me as unqualifed to help." We affirm our words in our brain. Yes, someone did hurt our feelings BUT we simply MUST delete the memory and break through!

Thanks Michael and Bob: https://www.neurosemantics.com/

Tyler Lane is a 24 tax auditor. I met him when he was in 4th grade. Listen to his story of transforming his speech and unleashing his courage. He walks the walk.

"The Best way out is always through!" Robert Frost

How does that apply to stuttering?

"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore!" William Faulkner

How does that apply stuttering?

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for" John A Shedd

You are built to speak, and socialize, and thrive.

PWS feel a stutter coming in their soma (throat, chest, or stomach). This is related to anxiety about stuttering. This fact explains how pws develop very specific word fears and they are often overwhelmed in the moment. Most speech therapy techniques are focused on once the stutter is up in the lips, tongue, or the voice. We can do better! What if you can "block the block?" CBT reduces anxiety and makes all of this easier.

If you stutter, these questions will help you get the leverage needed to summon up courage and purpose! If you help teens or adults who stutter, these questions will help them immensly. Mathematician Rene Descartes created this type of questioning in the early 1600's. Identify a fear you have about stuttering and run it through these questions. Also, think of something that you DID DO in the past that required courage and purpose (i.e. trained for an athletic event, earned a degree, learned a musical instrument). When we neglect to remember our victories we are "discounting the positive." Map over successes as resources to score more wins!

The Four Cartesian

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The notion of "controlling a stutter" has become somewhat controversial. It requires a deep dive now. We have to define the concept in order to eliminate the 'black and white' thinking that exists for some in the stuttering community.

Who gets to tell a person who stutters or a troubled parent what is to be "controlled" or "not controlled?" Have you ever stuttered?

Stuttering has two major parts: stuttered speech and anxiety/avoidance. Let's change control from a noun (i.e., command or dominate) to a verb (i.e., guide or manage).

In my case, I was hung up on the phone for a decade- due to silent blocking. Did I want to manage my speech and my anxiety? Heck yes! I can now. If you stutter, you can evolve. You can dramatically reduce your anxiety and you can loosen your speech patterns over time.

Many people who stutter spend the week trying to hide and conceal their stutter. The refusal to accept, disclose, and evolve creates anxiety and avoidance habits.

Acceptance is defined as "the quality or state of being accepted." We who stutter often project on our listeners and we imagine a lack of acceptance because we stutter.

Joseph is a rising junior at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. He is studying economics. That was my undergraduate degree; ironically :) Joseph is rapidly reducing the severity of his stuttering. More importantly, he is taking on MANY sepaking challenges that are remarkable. He is VP of the table tennis club on campus. He parlayed all of his new courage to interview for and be selected as an RA in a dorm! He will be speaking and mediating on a daily basis.

GO JOE GO !

Tim and Grace talk about her fast paced job and the constant speaking demands in her role with the KC Royals. We learn Grace's back story and what she faced to get there. I have known Grace since she was 15 years old and stuttering will never stop her from a vision she has. She reminds me of Susan Jeffers book "Feel the Fear and do it Anyways."

"Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it" Nelson Mandela