Dear Stuttering Foundation,
My name is Lily. I am 10 years old and I love singing, drawing, and running. I just ran a 5K for girls on the run in Milwaukee. I have 2 brothers, Brody and Finn. I also have a sister, her name is Briana. I stutter. I usually use the strategies slide out and speech turtle. I use these to help me talk and I love to talk. I have been in speech therapy for 2 years and I have learned that stuttering is not a bad thing. My stutter type is mid-syllable insertion. If you stutter don’t let stuttering control your social life. Be yourself. Imagine your voice is a sun and if it sets you lose being social. But when it rises you talk whenever you want and don’t let your stuttering control your life. Don’t let your sun set, let it rise.
From Lily, 10, Greendale, WI
I have stuttered for the majority of my life and have dealt with the ups and downs of stuttering. However, throughout all of the mentally draining and embarrassing experiences I have endured, I can look back on those experiences and observe how they have helped me grow as a person. After getting through a stuttering block, I think to myself how I wish I could get rid of my speech impediment. The shame and embarrassment I feel can be so overwhelming that it severely tarnishes my confidence and pride. However, eliminating stuttering from my life is simply not an option. I have two options for dealing with my stuttering: feel sorry for myself and lament about my impediment or continue to learn from and work through it. While sometimes hard, I choose to work through it. One major lesson I have learned over past few years is that my speech does not define who I am. My stuttering is simply another part of me that I must accept and cope with. The most important lesson I have learned from stuttering is that I can’t let it control my life. In retrospect, there have been many times when I have given into my fear of stuttering. Succumbing to fear can paralyze a person and prevent them from living their life to the fullest. Not only has my fear prevented me from speaking up and sharing good ideas with my peers, but it has also prevented me from being a leader. I have regretted the times when I have allowed my stuttering to control my life; I cannot let a part of who I am dictate how I live.
Dillon, 18, Esko, MN 30
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