About Me

My dad was in the check-out line at a store a few months ago when he started chatting up the family in front of him. It's one of the traits that I admire the most about my dad - he can talk to anyone with ease.

My dad told me that the family's little boy turned to him and said, "I stutter, you know." To which my dad replied, "Oh really? I have a son that stutters."

The rest of the conversation is really heart-warming, and although it's best told by my dad (the master storyteller), I'll do my best to replicate it here.

The kid wanted to know what my life was like. Did I have a family? Did I have a job? Was I happy? Was I cured? Could I speak fluently? Did people laugh at me? He looked up at my dad with these big eyes, hoping that he would tell him that everything was going to be OK.

My dad answered all of his questions, and I'll answer them as well:

Yes, I have a family. I have a wife of six years, a two year old girl and a seven month old boy.

As for my job, I'm a professional software developer at the largest home health agency in the nation. Not only that, but I'm a team lead, so not only do I help other developers and testers one-on-one, but I meet with the business users, take phone calls, give presentations, lead training seminars and pipe up on conference calls.

Am I happy? I have a great family and a great job. I live in a great city. What's not to be happy about?

Am I cured? No. I am not cured. I stutter every day. Every time I speak - or really, before I speak - I think about my speech. I have good days and bad days, and sometimes lots of bad days in a row. But the good days are great days.

Can I speak fluently? Sometimes. Speech therapy has helped me a great deal. I practice several techniques, including (but not limited to) passive airflow and relaxation exercises. I've found that getting rid of my secondary characteristics (twitching, clinching, blinking, etc) goes a long way towards speaking more fluently.

Do people laugh at me? Sometimes. But not usually, and not for very long. Nobody at work laughs at me - everyone is very patient and kind.

OK, so I've expanded on my dad's answers just a bit. My dad said that he didn't know if the kid would be disappointed to hear that my stuttering didn't go away. But instead of being disappointed, it seemed like a weight had been lifted off the kid's shoulders. It was like just hearing that he could have a normal, happy life made him feel better.

That little kid's reaction is one of the reasons why I started this blog. Maybe someone will read it and find some help or hope.

Or maybe they'll meet someone in the supermarket who tells them that it's OK to stutter.