( you’ll see the relevance in a minute )

This is just a blog to hear what it’s like to deal with a speech problem day in and day out. Sure , Yes I’m in good health, have all my hands and feet, fingers and my toes ... well not really. I’m missing a index finger, I am a Carpenter after all. Yes I know it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to have a stutter and I wouldn’t call it a disabling problem for me, for some people it really REALLY is and I have met some in my travels. It breaks my heart to see them struggle because I know exactly how they feel . Stuttering has its challenges that’s for sure. So thought I’d post some tips and tricks that helped me over the decades .

Some Famous people who stuttered, that you probably never even knew did.

Julia Roberts

The soft speech Marilyn did was a way to control your breathing, not just being sexy

No no not Kieth Urban, but Nicole Kidman ✅

James Earl Jones, yes Darth Vader stuttered !

Samuel L Jackson – he revealed that this swear word wards off a stutter he has been battling since his childhood, he’s said it in every movie. Even says it under his breath to help him .... what’s that swear word – MOTHERF$&KER – see I told you

And even the king himself, Elvis

Yes I do stutter as well, but I’m a nobody ..... Not quite sure when it started but they say trauma can have something to do with it ? We moved from Winnipeg at a very young age. All my family is back there, I still go back every once and awhile to visit them. So I don’t know exactly when it started? Maybe that was a tramattraumatic moment for me, I was enrolled in speech classes when I was around 8 years old . As a child I was WAY worse than I am today . I got picked on lots, which kind of made me a bully. I would bully before I got bullied, many thinks I regret. Kids can be mean and cruel, and I was no exception .....

Institute for stutter treatment and research (ISTAR)located in Edmonton Alberta Canada 🇨🇦

ISTAR Is a great place to go. They teach you how to talk softly and how to pronounce hard syllables ect. Light touches with your tongue as well as Breathing, breathing is a huge thing to help as well. When to take breaths ect ... It all helps but only if you use it, which I was a kid so not all the time did I use the tricks I was taught. I adapted and found a way to talk so to speak 😉 Pronunciation of hard letters is more difficult than soft letters. For instance my own name has caused me more grief than anything -Gord, impossible for me to say. Introducing my self at meetings is almost physically impossible . Unless I add a soft sound in front of it, If I add a “ I’m “ Infront it makes it easier to say. “I’m Gord” Done right ? Just add soft syllables infromt of hard ones when I have to say them. Well no not really that easy, Eminem said it best in a song Lose yourself. Minus the spaghetti part

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin'

All of that and more, your mind starts to get scared days/weeks ahead of meetings, phone calls, meeting new people ect. If I can use words that I know I can say then I’m 90% good. For example if I’m talking about building a deck I would say “hangers” not “joist hangers” or I would say “floor joist” not “joist” or “patio” instead of “deck” get the idea ? But if had to read word for word from a script, I would be royally screwed! Most people would never know I stutter, my wife always thinks I am incredibly fast and make quick witted funny comments in conversation with people. And I do because I play out so many things in my mind all the time it’s tiring but I’m used to it . I guess stuttering you learn to think fast on your feet? There’s a positive right there ! I get home and my head is just exhausted, ready to blow off.

It’s difficult to explain so I hope I’m getting my point across . I do hide it very well because I plan every conversation / dialog almost and If I can say words I know I can use. Drive-thru’s don’t even get me started, I’ll say ummm, ummm, ummm and the person will say over the speaker “ what’s a matter did you forget your order , hahahah” haha ya that’s exactly what happened 🤬🤬 happens once a week I bet This happens. When I stutter on my name, what’s the famous line I hear “ what’s a matter did you forget you own name ?? “ But technology has helped me lots, There are ways to make my life easier, texting and emails, using my business card with my name on it when I meet people and changing to words I can say. I make it though ok, but it’s tough. Some days with lots of talking I’m mentally drained, I can hardly think.

So next time some one stammers or stutters, seems to hesitate just remember the troubles they went through today doing simple things that people blessed with fluent speech don’t need to worry about , like ordering their extra large, double cream, double sugar coffee . With a bagel Toasted with peanut butter . And then your 11 year old son asks for a blueberry granola muffin out of the blue. When you haven’t had time to prepare, inside it makes me want to .....

!!! Scream !!!

But I don’t, I keep it some what together and I order that MOTHERFUCKING muffin !!

Thanks for reading ❤️

How many tries did it take me to make a video for Michael B ? Check it out below... you won’t believe it 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

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