A Recipe for Confidence

By Joan Warner

The Stuttering Foundation was excited to hear from students in San Diego, Calif.

“We are a group of students who stutter at Southwest High School in beautiful San Diego, Calif.,” the students wrote. “Our group is composed of five students (all bilingual) whose stuttering ranges from mild to moderate-severe. We get together frequently to discuss our stuttering and ways to control it. We have also done a series of presentations with the purpose of educating our school regarding stuttering. We would like to reach out to all people who stutter and tell them that they should not be ashamed of one small part of themselves, but be proud of who they are and what they can achieve.”

These five teens are worth remarking on for a number of reasons – all of which are “ingredients” in the recipe for confidence.

In their own words, Andres, Fernando, Irvin, Adrian and Christian, tell us, “We are a group of students who stutter … Our group rendezvous once every week to discuss how stuttering has affected us recently (in either a positive or negative way).”  But they don’t stop there, talking among themselves. “Our group has presented several times to high school students (and once each to the school district’s speech pathologists, psychologists, and support staff) what stuttering is and how it has affected our lives.”

Bob McKinney, LSH Specialist for Southwest High School, has had a great deal to do with encouraging this group of students to inspire and motivate not only themselves, but also others. “These guys are excited … They are a great group of guys, and I’m proud to be able to work with them,” Bob tells us.  “I am always amazed at the maturity they show when they discuss their stuttering with their peers,” he continued.

“All our lives we’ve had to overcome ridicule, embarrassment, and desperation, but being in this group, we’ve learned to accept, and to be proud of who we are.”  They go on to say, “We are no different than anyone else besides the fact that it takes time to say what we want to say.”

On a recent field trip, the guys made their presentation to a group of school district psychologists. It afforded this group of professionals the opportunity to receive a realistic and heart-felt “lesson” on a often misunderstood disability.

So, what is in the “recipe” for confidence?  Apparently, some very solid ingredients including support, encouragement, perseverance, maturity, inspiration, motivation, and a dash of being proud of one’s accomplishments.

In the boys’ words, “We believe that confidence is the best cure for stuttering.”

Please see their exceptional presentation at:
http://blog.suhsd.k12.ca.us/index.php?/specialservices/detail/stuttering_presentation/