BC, Canada Mary Rose L.

On Friday, I mentioned I could summarize an article for the Canadian Stuttering Association website. I'm thankful to God that I was able to decipher the key points from all the jargon. I just sent if off for the rest of the boards review. Here's the summary.

Personality and Stuttering 

Summarized by Mary Rose L.

The Correlational Study:

The study examined the relationship of the 5 factor Model of Personality - specifically Neuroticism, Extraversion and its impact on the stutterer's quality of life. 

The researcher hypothesized that higher Neuroticism scores would correlate with higher scores in OASES (Overall  Assessment of the Speakers Experience of  Stuttering)  which indicate greater negative effects - anxiety, shame and avoidance.  However, if stutterers had higher Extraversion scores, then they may deal with life stressors in a direct way via seeking support from others.

Materials and Method:

The 5 factor Model of Personality is comprised of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Concientiousness and Aggreeableness.  Neuroticism is defined as being moody, emotional, unstable and anxious. It is also linked to the experience of negative emotionality and impaired coping with daily stressors ( Costa & McCrae, 1992).  Extraversion is defined as being outgoing and social.  Due to previous  literature on Openness, Concientiousness and Agreeableness, the researcher decided not to study these variables  (Bleeka, Reutera, Yaruss, Cook, Fabere, Christian & Montaga, 2012).

Participants - 112 German people who stutter (PWS). They were recruited from a Self Help Support Group for Stutterers. Each participants met the required criterias 1) they were over 18 years  of age; 2) they had a developmental stutter before 10 years of age; and  3) their stutter was confirmed by a Speech Language Pathologist. 

Questionnaire - participants completed a 100 item self report that measured  the pychosocial effects of a stutterers everyday life called OASES (Overall Assessment of the Speakers Experience of Stuttering) .  

Results: The research findings supported the hypothesis of a relationship with Neuroticism and OASES scores. A person with a higher level of Neuroticism exhibited a higher score in OASES. This reflected an adverse experience due to their speech disorder. For this reason, it is important for clinicians and researchers to consider these negative psychosocial consequences in the assessment of individuals who stutter. For PWS, there was a negative correlation in extraversion which suggest that  stutterers are less outgoing and experience greater adverse impacts resulting from their stuttering or vice versa. Only 4 % of stutterers were found to be extraverted and this explained the variation in the neuroticism results (Bleeka, et al., 2012).

Discussion: It is likely that persons with high neuroticism will benefit from emotion regulation strategies in the context of coping. However, future studies are needed to investigate the link between Neuroticsim and speech therapy. Due to the correlational nature of the present study it is not possible to derive a causal relationship between Neuroticism and the stuttering impact on quality of life (Bleeka, et al., 2012).

References:

Bleeka, B. , Reutera, M., Yaruss J.S., Cook, S., Fabere, J., & Montaga, C. (2012). Relationship between personality characteristics of people who stutter and the impact of stuttering on everyday life. Journal of Fluency Disorder,  37, 325 - 333.

Costa, P.T.,  & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO Five - Factor Inventory (FFI): Professional manual. Odessa. Psychological Assessment Resources.

USA: Nina G. Comedian

 
 Nina was diagnosed with a Learning Disability and began to stutter while in elementary school. She struggled to deal with teachers who underestimated her abilities, teasing from peers and family members, and issues of self-esteem. Nina was raised in the Oakland area and attended UC Berkeley where the roots of the Disability Movement took place, solidifying her identity as a person with a disability, one she sees with cultural and political empowerment. This coupled with supportive parents has helped Nina not to overcome her disability but to overcome the attitudes about what women and girls with disabilities can achieve.

Keith Bowers of the SF Weekly sums Nina up best, Nina G. grew up with a stutter. A couple of times each minute, a certain syllable will hang her up. She'll stall, repeat the same sound a few times – like the word is literally trapped – but then she'll get it out and move on. All her life people have given condescending advice on how she can cure the condition if she just tries hard enough. Others haven't been so kind. To this day grown people mock her and laugh at her expense. But Nina G. doesn't hide. In fact she'll tell you stories about publicly embarrassing people who've laughed at her. She'll tell you these stories from the stage. See, Nina G. is a comedian, and she deals in comebacks. So if you meet her in a cafe or on a BART platform and want to put her down, think hard on that. (Really. We've seen her. She's fierce.)
 


 

India: Sachin Ingle

I got stammer, when I was 11 year old. As earlier I did not know why this is happening with me, and I just would talk as I could, I kept this issue many times in front of my parents, they would simply tell me nothing is wrong with you and would advise me to speak slowly. But this could not solve my problem.

I kept talking as I could. But after two year when I was in 8^th standard, this problem started me suffering more. I was always to be first in my class. It was very easy for me to face written exam. But when it turned to oral exam, I got scared, keeping in mind that whether it will be possible for me to talk properly or not. Even today, I remember those days when teacher make me stand and ask the answer of question. I would take 10 to 15 minutes to tell the answer of 4 to 5 sentence. Other student would answer the same question in only 2 to 3 minutes. In school I was always teased by my friends because I stammered. I had very less friends. So I would concentrate my most time on study. But only study was boring for me, I felt many times that, I should be able to talk as other boys should....To overcome the stammering problem, I tried a lot I went to Doctor, speech therapist, hypnotist and many more; I also took many Ayurveda medicines. But all it were fruitless for me. My present and future days all were too boring, I could not understand what to do, whom to tell about my problem. 

When I passed B.Sc.(math’s), I wanted to do M.B.A. but I had heard that M.B.A. students has to give presentation at least once a weak. Due to stammering to go for presentation was very difficult and almost impossible for me. So I decided not to do M.B.A. but at the same time few friends suggested me to do M.C.A. and with this also told me that in M.C.A. I will not have to face presentation. Keeping this point in mind, I decided to take admission in M.C.A. when I entered first year of M.C.A. everything was better as earlier. But one month later, a madam came to class and started teaching one subject. After finishing lecture madam asked the entire class that, is there anybody who is interested in giving presentation? But nobody showed interest on giving presentation. Due to this madam got angered.And madam made compulsory for all students to prepare for presentation. This decision was less fearful for some student but not for me. I got anxieties and scared after hearing this decision. As my experience for pws it is very difficult to face a presentation. There was no option on presentation and nobody was going to made me free from presentation. So finally I decided to prepare for presentation for three day. With this I practiced of talking in close room daily for three day. Finally that day came on which I had to be ready for giving presentation. Before entering into class room I was scared, but soon after, I built confidence and decided not to scare, finally With confidence I could give presentation very nice. Madam was very happy with my presentation. This way I kept giving one presentation per semester. Though this was nice experience for me, But friends you know what is stammering? If pws says one sentence properly first time, it is not sure that next time the same sentence will be said by him properly. 

All we know? stammering becomes worse when we are in depression. When we are relax we can speak very clearly whatever we have to speak but, same words could not be spoken by us clearly when we are in depression, in fact, whenever we want to be fluent we don’t be fluent. So overall I was not happy with my life. In college life too I had very less friends. In collage I used to speak with only one or two person. It was very difficult for me to speak in group of guys. When it turns to viva I would get into depression. 

Somehow I completed my Post-Graduation. And Went to Mumbai to look for job, I spent most of my time on internet to search a job then I noticed, there might be stammering group on internet, keeping this in mind I started looking for such group, and finally I got Tisa Website, I visited whole website and also read about different Tisa group in India. After that first of all I visited Mumbai Tisa. There were eight members present on first meeting. First we introduced ourselves and then shared our feeling about stammering. First time in my life I felt very nice after meeting eight pws, whom I had been waiting since many years, those I met first time. I came to know from them how to lives life. After that I visited two to three Mumbai Tisa meeting, after meeting TISA friends my attitudes towards stammering has been totally changed. My fear of speaking and depression everything got automatically run away. But after two month I had to leave Mumbai because I got job in nashik so I have been in nashik since 6 month, and want to start TISA in Nashik too.       

Sachin Ingle,

Contact No: 7709583602.

E-mail ID: inglesachin123@rediffmail.com.

Gangapur Road, Nashik  

 Thanks TISA and Team.

Children Literature: Stutterers

I took a few months off from Stutter Culture to finish my studies! I had to fulfill 2 more Literature requirement. American and Children Literature are the two courses I chose.  Coincidentally the last course had characters who stutter.

Lewis Carroll a pws had Alice of "Adventures of Alice in Wonderland" stuttering when she was explaining to authority figures like the Caterpillar. 

Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories had character who stuttered  - the bus driver But.

Read interesting novels this summer semester but so glad it is finally over!

Sweden: Anita Blom

Stuttering, disability or handicap?

When I started to stutter, I was 9 years (yes, that late). From that day my life was limited. My parents did not want me to speak in public or even to family.At school I do not answer the questions, and laughed aloud at all so, I did. The teachers told me that there was no sense that I would read the language I would not get anywhere with my stuttering. The job I wanted, I could not because of my stuttering. The grade that I wanted, I could not because of the stuttering. The friends that I wanted, I could not because of my stuttering. I was forced into a small box and excluded from society. And I let it happen.

Look at me today. I have gone back to school and received the highest rating. I have made ​​many friends who take me as I am with stuttering and all. My family is proud of me. Speaking in public is the best I know. I travel around the world to talk about stuttering in different languages, THANKS TO my stuttering.And best of all, I got my dream job: I work with computers in school. I love computers and I love people and in this job, I combine the two. I can be something that others can just as well. Others are limited in their ignorance of the data while I have a lot of freedom because of my knowledge. I can be something that others want and my stuttering is not in the way anymore. On the contrary, my stuttering has decreased considerably and is sometimes hardly noticeable.  

So what I'm saying is: sure, my stuttering is a disability that causes it sometimes. But stuttering is not a handicap until someone (your surroundings, but even you yourself) makes it a handicap. So do not let anyone set your limits. You notice your limitations when you meet them. And even then, they should stop you. Test your limits. Route them. Is it not, then you have all tried to fall. Stuttering is not something you ARE. It's just one of many things you do.
 

India : Ravi Singh

I have very nice memories of my high school years, met many interesting people and learned a lot about myself. But  in some way memories of primary school was always holding me back. Back then many classmates and unfortunately some of the teachers made fun of me. Over and over again I asked myself the same question “Why me? Why not someone else?” Not only did I wonder why me, when I was growing up I used to think it must be somebody's fault.

Primary school years were the hardest years of my life, but those horrible experiences made me who I am today. The hardest job on the planet for me was to say "Present mam" during roll call. I learned how to fight for myself and not allow other people to judge me based on my speech.  Now I’m a stronger person , but before I realize this I had one serious breakdown at age 15.

In India the main problem is that our legislation does not protect us. It  describes rights and defines adjustments for every group of people with special needs, except for people with speech and language disorders. So according to the law we don’t have any rights. There are legal documents which provide measures to prevent discrimination towards people with special needs and to increase participation and inclusion for people with special needs. Again - not for all groups of people with special needs - we are once again forgotten.

Also we do not have equal job opportunities. There is a lack of  stuttering awareness  in Indian  society. Most people  do not know what stuttering is. While others think they know "everything" there is to know about stuttering, but everything they know, they learned from watching movies and listening to jokes about stuttering .  Because stuttering awareness  very low society there are many prejudices. Many assume people who stutter are shy, not very clever, lazy, nervous, unsociable, and very strange. Another common view is that PWS are alcoholics or psychiatric patients. 

Most of the specialists in India surprisingly comment ‘Ignore the problem, it will be cured by itself when you grow up' – it is a passing phase. This suggestion is entirely wrong. By going against the stream and with my vast experience, my conception is that do not sit idle with the hope that it will be cured when you grow up. If luckily you get cured after 20 or 30 years, by then you would have missed the golden part of your life. Do not postpone, act immediately to overcome this major defect in your speech.

I think we should stop crying about what we don’t have and be thankful for what we have.  It is said, that if you cry because the sun has disappeared from the sky, the tears will prevent you from seeing the beauty of the stars. I'll probably never talk without stutter, but that’s alright. I still can achieve so many things in my life. I see my stuttering as my unique way of talking.

Besides what I already mentioned above, our everyday experiences is that some people are making fun of us, they laugh at us, speak very childish, loud and slowly, so we could understood what they are trying to say to us, use only short sentences as if there was something wrong with our intelligence. Some people don't even listen to us, others are full of advices how to talk and breathe so we won't stutter, or even feel sorry for us

I think that the first step to deal with stuttering is to stop hiding and running away from  fearful situations . Wondering why I stuttered, and crying about it did not make things easier.  But using my stutter to my advantage made my life better!

                                                       Center : Ravi Singh

BC, Canada: Mary Rose L

This is an article I wrote for BCAPS Newsletter  

BCAPS Profile: Mary Rose L, PR chair.  As the founder of the Vancouver Support Group for Stutterers, I have coordinated meetings regularly from 1997 - 2007. Starting with 5 members at Langara College, the support group has grown and has helped over 80 people who stutter. Towards the end of the 10 years, the group dynamics has evolved shaping the meetings into social outings rather than indoor meetings. Now the Support Group is a Social Club for Stutterers of which I, too, am the founder/coordinator. Members attend fun activities where they feel acceptance amongst their peers.

During my time with the BCAPS Board of Executives, 1998 - 2006. I've held the Fundraising and PR Chair positions. I took a hiatus from BCAPS to focus on my studies and simultaneously work as a Preschool Teacher. This year, I'll be graduating with a BA in Psychology at UBC. When the opportunity to be a part of the organizing committee for the Canadian Stuttering Association (CSA) Conference 2011 arose, I volunteered my time and joined the CSA Board of Executives. At the CSA conference, I reconnected with the BCAPS Board of Executives and ran for the position of PR Chair.


As BCAPS PR Chair, I would like to continue increasing public awareness of stuttering so that stutterers can communicate with ease and have the options to either use fluency skills or to accept their speech.

I would also like to thank the BCAPS Board of Directors for welcoming me to the association!