The National Stuttering Association

In July of this year I will be celebrating my second year participating in the National Stuttering Association. I was approached by a friend about it, asking me if I would like to attend a meeting with her. I thought it be a good idea, so I went. By the end of the first meeting, I was immediately hooked and knew that I wanted to be a part of such a great cause. The group meets once a month on Thursday evenings. At the beginning, I had started going to two different groups, one in Lake Forest and the other in Naperville. I continued with the Naperville group.
The group was comprised of people of a wide range of ages. That definitely makes a good conversation. They all have jobs and some have their own families, just like anyone in society. The only thing that makes them different was their speech. As for me, I have always been associated with people of all types of disabilities, so it wasn't very different or hard for me to get used to the routine.
As I continued to participate in the group, I've begun to learn that there are different levels in stuttering. Some people had a better time speaking than others. But that did not stop them from speaking their minds. It didn't matter how long it took for them to speak one sentence. No one seemed shy at all. I began to admire their courage to speak in front of me knowing that I don't have a speech problem, and it didn't seem to bother them that I didn't either. I spent a lot of time listening to them and trying to understand why they stutter and how they feel about it. To date, there isn't any study on what causes stuttering. They seem to accept the fact that they have stuttering as a part of their lives, and they have to deal with it every day.
In each session, the leader checks in with them to see how their month was. We talk about their experiences out in the community, being in situations where they do have to speak to others, some they do not know personally. They share how they felt and what they did to overcome the situation. I began to realize how difficult it is for them to talk. It takes a lot of their time and energy sometimes just to say one sentence.
For any ordinary person, it seems that speaking is taken for granted. When a person speaks, their voice sounds and words are spoken immediately, not having to think about it. For a person who stutters, they have to concentrate on every word and take their time to pronounce each word. I try to be as patient as I can to listen and understand what is being said. I sometimes like to repeat what they say to help myself make sure I understood what they say.
Being a part of the National Stuttering Association is fun and has taught me so much about how difficult it could sometimes be for them to speak and how it does affect them emotionallly. Nevertheless, they are ordinary people who have jobs and families. They are just like you and me.