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Show STUTTERER continued young children go through periods of stuttering generally beginning at age 3 or I experts in the field hesitate to label anybody a stutterer until adolescence. by which time half of these childhood cases are mysteriously outgrown. THIRD WEEK Jimmy, a musician, was one of many graduates of the course who dropped in for pep talks. He wore dark glasses and carried a cane. Jimmy is blind. At times, i noticed his breathing was a bit forced, but I never would have pegged him as a stutterer if I hadn't been told he was one. "Fee! those targets!" Jimmy urged us w ith the passion of an evangelist. If he could feel those targets" so passionately, well then, so could I! FOURTH WEEK Speaking now in syllables, we were sounding less like automatons, more like normal people. We abandoned our stopwatches and began trying to act normal too by making telephone calls. Virtually every stutterer fears the telephone. It forces the voice to express thoughts on its own and the voice is the problem. It's exposed and vulnerable. began calling restaurants, asking. "How late are you open'." No problem! Along with this new feat came new responsibility: it was up to me to be fluent, to monitor how I say w hat I say and to muster immense concentration on the mechanics of speech, something most people take for granted. felt my enunciaFIFTH WEEK tion inch toward the real thing until I gave a speech in class. As always, the words backed up in my mouth. That night. I couldn't sleep. I was beginning to feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I no longer wanted the "old me" around. I wanted him to go away so the "new me" still so young and fragile could be nourished and cultivated. But I was also frightened of that "new me." Who w as he'. Where would he take me? That night, the "old me" slipped away but not without a struggle. FINAL WEEK I wanted the "new me" so badly that I became obsessed. At work. I tried to stay "on target" all day. which proved to be as tiring as stuttering all day. But when we were tested. I was 100 percent fluent That evening. I called my brother. I needed to tell him that he hadn't caused my stutter, and that if his own son. who has developed a stammer, grows up to be a stutterer, he will have the chance to overcome it too. I also called my mom. A doctor had once told her I stuttered because she was a bad mother." She'd accepted part of the blame too. and much of the worry. I wanted to call them and talk. So did. -- lowest. Low isnt... one-seco- 1 1 4mg 5mg 7mg 5mg 3mg Now Menthol is lowest. By U.S. Govt, testing method. ! SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight. NOW. THE LOWEST OF ALL BRANDS Competitive tat levels relied either the Jar '85 FTC Report or FTC method 100s FILTER. MENTHOL 3 mg. "tar", 0.3 mg. nicotine per cigarette by FTC method. SOFT PACK av. 1 For more information, write Communi- cations Reconstruction Center. Dept. P. 450 Park Ave., New York. N.Y. 10022. PAGE 16 AUGUST 24, 1986 PARADE MAGAZINE |
