STUTTERING FOUNDATION Q & A: JORDAN NORTHRUP
Jordan Northrup recently began contributing content to the Stuttering Foundation’s blog. Find his writing at
stutteringhelp.org/blog.
SFA: Do you remember when you first began to stutter?
BRIAN: I started speaking around the age of 3.5, and I began to stutter right away. I’ve lived with a stutter as long as I can remember.
Does it run in your family? Who else stutters?
Other than my paternal grandfather, I am the only person in my family who stutters.
Location:
I’m from Lima, Ohio, and I currently live in the Washington DC area. Profession:
I’ve been a Marine Corps Officer for 19 years. I’m also a real estate investor and published author/speaker. Family:
I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for 7 years. We have a 4-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter, and they are the best part of my life. Hobbies, Interests, Passions: One passion of mine is to help individuals and families struggling with the pain of addiction, which is sparked by my own victory over alcohol addiction. My other passion is to support fellow PWS; there aren’t that many of us compared to the rest of the population. We all need examples to inspire us. I also enjoy exercise, cycling, politics, golf, woodworking. Successes:
I’ve had to overcome many challenges in my life to get to where I am today, specifically my life-long stutter and a 14-year addiction to alcohol.
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Did you seek treatment? Did it help? Some of my earliest memories are attending speech therapy. It was the early 80s, and SLPs didn’t have the same knowledge and resources they do today. They told my mother that my stutter was too difficult to treat… a combination of silent blocks and repetitions, but not focused to the same syllables. It was too random. Even so, I continued with therapy until the end of first grade. Looking back, I wish some kind of speech therapy had continued for me during my growing up years. It was not until many years later as an adult that I received additional help for my stutter. I was on active duty in the Marines when I finally sought out the services of SLPs. Frequent public speaking is a given when you are a Marine Corps officer, and I desperately needed some help. One great SLP stands out in my mind. He helped me to visualize being at the head of the boardroom, receiving reports from my staff and having all the information I needed. This mindset helped me to remain calmer and to see myself as being in control of the situation. It was a great tool. During the course of my career, medical intervention was also helpful at times to stabilize my mood and reduce anxiety related to public speaking. While not for everyone, the support of medication helped me reinforce visualization techniques and gain more fluency.
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