Manpreet.....A Recovering Stammerer

GIRLS AND BOYS interrupted

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:17:00 +0000

A leading Indian tech company has 23 members in its stammering association. They and other stammerers help each other through their frustrating condition — and sue films that mock them

Here's the link to the article on TISA featured on Times of India, Sunday edition (28th November 2010):-
Link

Bollywood or a Torture ??

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:25:00 +0000

The Bollywood is always one step ahead in making fun of ones handicap and most of the time
stammering was used for cheep humor and just to make people laugh without any reason.
If we see in some bollywood movies that were released recently, the main character was
playing the role of a stammerer and stammering was shown in a normal way and not for cheep
laughs. Few movies like "Ajab prem ki gazab kahani", "Kaminey","Jootha hi sahi" etc have shown stammering in a positive or rather normal way.

After watching these movies I thought that bollywood has now grown up and is taking each
and every aspect whether is a Handicap or a particular community etc very seriously and with atmost care.

But the recent release of Rohit Sheety, "Golmaal 3", was once again a shock to me and many
stammerers across India. It has made fun of stammer to such an extent that even a mature guy
who understands this handicap would start laughing and making fun if he/she comes across a stammerer in real life. They dont even know how it feels to be on the other side. Ask a stammerer who has to go through all this everyday. Accepting cheep laughs is way to far and not acceptable to any person who has a handicap.

But TISA filed a case in the court against them and they got the answer from TISA. You can see the result of this brave step by TISA on the below given link :

Link

Yesterday we had an interview with a reporter from the "Times of India". She came to our work
place and we shared all our experiences with her and also raised this point. Our article
will be now published in the Sunday times in Mumbai and I am very eager to read what she
finally writes about this. Lets wait and see. If you want to read about this meeting with the reporter in detail then you can click the link of TISA blog given below :-

TISA

Pune SHG - A Memorable Day

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:16:00 +0000

The Pune SHG meeting this sunday was very interesting. We had fun and enjoyed as much as we could. JP had already planned to give us Treat, as it was his Birthday on 22nd July. Although
I wished him on that day too but sunday was special. It was raining very heavily from the last 6 days and still was raining with no hint of sun shine.

Our meeting starts at 10:30 am but due to heavy rain and traffic, I was about 25 minutes late(sorry for that). Till that time JP,Chris and Rahul had already started meditating. I removed my shoes and sat down on the chair very carefully so that I don't disturb them. Then I also closed my eyes and started meditating along with them. After 5 minutes, when we opened our eyes, Sujit was also sitting in front of us. Actually Chris took some time to come out of the meditating state. And it was really good to watch him going so deep in his mind and we all remained silent till he opened his eyes.

Most of the members couldn't make it because of the heavy rainfall.So with 5 members this time, we had a round of slow reading where we were suppose to pause after every three words. In this round our patience was tested.Because everyone was trying to speak the whole sentence in one go forgetting about the pause. After that we began to play a game in which we had to frame a sentence and the next person had to make a sentence rhymed with the previous one just like a poem. This round was very interesting.After this we had a round which was similar to Extempore. Each of us had to suggest a Topic and anyone can choose any Topic but the same topic cant be chosen twice. The topics were very interesting and we all had to speak for atleast 4 minutes on the topic we selected.

Then came the time for celebration. JP himself had brought the cake and we all sang the famous "Happy Birthday to you " song for him. Then we all ate some of the cake and the rest of the cake was as usual put on his face. It was the perfect Asian paints moment :-D

After that it was Treat time.We all went to a restaurant where we had a delicious vegetarian Lunch as it was a vegetarian resto :-( . Our lunch went on for about an hour and a half. After all
we were discussing many important things. This was all about our meeting.

JP and I also have an experience to share which was more like a nightmare to us.Stay tuned for this Nightmare.

My Journey So Far !!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:07:00 +0000

Stammering is a hard to explain and even harder for me because I am the one who stammers. Stammering is one of the biggest medical mysteries that is haunting the medical Science even today. There is no so-called cure for stammer and that is the bitter truth which is hard to accept. Its like living in a fantasy world where we, the PWS(People Who Stammer) use some encrypted language to communicate with other fellow PWS so that the non-stammerers around us dont understand what we are talking about. They(non stammerers) laugh at us when we stammer and we in turnlaugh at them because they dont know that we(stammerers) are members of a "secret league of extra ordinary people" who are very smart and sharp. Its amazing to spend some time in this fantasy world of stammerers. But finally we have to come out of this world of imaginations and face the real world which is the most difficult part of being a stammerer.

It all started when I was about 3 or 4 or Even I dont remember when? There were many other things around to concentrate on. I still remember when I was in 1st standard, my teachers always use to tell my parents that "your child doesn't even speaks a single word in the class. Even when he is has to go to bathroom or toilet he will make some stupid and strange gestures rather than asking for it. At that time my teachers and parents were also unaware of the thing that was developing within me. Many years passed by and I was still the same guy who doesn't wants to talk to anyone and even if the teachers asked some questions I would prefer to keep my mouth shut rather than stammering and getting embarrassed, although I was knowing the answer.

The schools days were over now and I entered into a college for my B.Tech or B.E. in computers.We stammerers are always good in knowledge and technical skills but when it comes to speaking or communications skills we always feel inferior to others. Same was the case with me in the college. Although I took active part in the seminars or Communication skills classes. But when it came to vivas or oral tests, it was like hell. I would rather bunk my class than attending the class and facing those embarrassing situations. Never had the courage to go and talk to the girl whom I liked the most. But still the college life was good. Because you don’t have to wake up early and go for attending classes and all that. You are the king.

Live Life King Size.

After college came the professional life. Mine was a Campus placement and my professional life started when I went to Mysore for 6 months of Technical Training. It is always a problem to go to a new place where every face is new and bright. You go to a new place with lot of expectations and all. This again can be a problem for a person who stammers because you have to start it all over again. Introducing yourself in every session or to every person you meet. We use to have Communication classes there, where each and everyone of us has to speak. You don’t have any option.But it was not that hard for me. In almost each and every session of communication classes I discussed about my stammer. So after talking about my stammer and letting everyone know that I stammer, It feels really good. It felt like all the people in that room were all stammerers and I am attending a Self Help Group meeting. So that thought of getting embarrassed or humiliated was gone. After introducing stammering as a part of my life and actually telling them about the obstacles and difficulties that I face every day, everyone was staring at me like I was a superman or from some other planet. From that day more and more people(including girls) started interacting with me and sent me friendship mails and all that. At that time I thought, why are they so desperate to be my friend. Was it my honesty...?? Was it my bravery....?? or just that I am different from them...?? Still I dont know the exact reason. But it doesn't really matters or does it..?

Soon my friend circle began to expand. It was altogether a new beginning for me. I didn't knew that stammering can make such a huge difference(in a positive sense). Then after completing my training successfully, I got posted to Pune. Now I am in Pune, exploring a new world, with new faces around and of course some familiar ones too. But one thing is still the same and that is my stammering. So there is some sort of connection between me and my stammering. You can never get satisfied in your life if you are a stammer. And remember "satisfaction leads to Death". Life will always be a journey where you can keep on learning new things everyday and with stammering in it , it becomes more spicy and interesting.

This was my way of looking at stammering. There are many other ways too that can lead to suffering, Pain and make your life Hell. So why not accept you stammer, make life a bit spicy & interesting and live with it.

That was my journey so far. Lets wait and see, what life has planned for me or rather what I have planned for life in the near future.

Common men, Uncommon lives !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:05:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

I am 56 years old, B.Com (Hons.) from Mumbai.
I have been on the Yahoo Blog for the last 4 to 6 weeks and am impressed by the quality of communication going on between us. We have Sachin in Dehradun, Mr. Manpreet in Jammu, and Mr. Manimaran in Chennai and so many others who contribute regularly and inspire all of us. My BIG Thanks and immense Gratitude to all of them and all who have contributed directly and are working behind the scene (web designing, typing etc.) Thanks to the internet it has brought us to a common platform and we can share and learn from others. A few words about my experiences and how I overcame my stammering.

I was really bad in school and right up to college I used to keep my mouth shut even when I knew the answer. I used the power of visualization to get a job in a multinational company and worked till 1993. Since the last 16 years I am on my own. I give software training and devote more time on Spirituality and Meditation. The turning point in my life was very gradual :
In 1996 (at the age of 43 years) I did Reiki Level 1 and 2 and thereafter Vipassana 10 days course at Igatpuri. Vipassana has been a great help and I observe that after my 1 day meditation on Sundays, I am very calm and composed and speak very normally. It is only when I am a bit tense or agitated or angry that I get the blockage, especially on the phone. Even here I now make it a point to speak slowly and calmly.

The next huge turning point came in 2004.
I saw an Advertisement in the Times of India for the “Brahmavidya” course. This course has helped me to speak very normally and nobody knows that I used to stammer once upon a time. At the end of the 22 weeks I even mustered the courage to speak for 5 minutes and share my experiences of the course. I could do so with ease without a blockage.

Brahmavidya course teaches 8 types of breathing exercises and the technique of right meditation. Today I devote at least one hour in the morning to complete all the 8 breathing exercises and spend some time in Meditation. The affirmations given with the notes are simply great and it just changes your consciousness.

I was surprised to learn from the course that the average person uses only 10 % of his lung capacity. Brahmavidya teaches Spiritual Breathing Exercises which improves breathing and Meditation techniques which improves thinking. The Breathing exercises purifies the body and Meditation purifies the mind. The secret of overcoming stammering is to just pump in a lot of oxygen. One hour of breathing exercises does wonders to your body and brain.
Brahmavidya is a 22 weeks course of 1 hour weekly (Total 33 hours). The fees charged is only Rs. 750 for the 22 weeks. This course is held in different suburbs of Mumbai. The next course commences in the last week of October 2009. More details can be found on www.brahmavidya.net

One can also do this course by correspondence by paying Rs. 750 to Brahmavidya Sadhak Sangh Ratneshwar Bhuwan, 1st Floor, Behind Bank of Maharashtra, Gokhale Road, Naupada, Thane (West), 400 602 Phone 2533 9977, 2534 7788.

I wish all of you Good Luck, Joy and Happiness.

Warm Regards,
M.K.Peerbhai

Is Sss...s...Stammering a Disease..??

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:19:00 +0000

No, its not.

There are more than 45 million people in the world today who stammer and approximately 10 million live in India . Stammering is predominantly a 'male' condition (80% of all stammerers are male) and it usually affects the first-born male child. A significant majority of stammerers (65%) have a family history of the disorder; usually the father who stammers or speaks at a rapid rate. Nearly always, stammering starts before the child is 5 years of age. If left untreated, it peaks in severity around the age of 10 to 18 years and then begins to stabilize or fade away as the stammerer grows older.

A stammerer knows precisely what he wants to say but cannot, for the moment, say it because of an involuntary repetition, prolongation or cessation of the speech sound. Research suggests that the disorder might be caused due to a 'neurological mistiming' during the act of speech which leaves the stammerer confused about when exactly to say the word he wants to say. Speaking is not merely the movement of the tongue but involves a fine coordination of both mental and physical processes. Like all other physical actions, the act of speech is the result of neuro-muscular coordination which involves the transmitting of electro-chemical messages from the brain to the appropriate muscle groups. For everyone of us (non-stammerers and stammerers alike), this neuro-muscular system sometimes trips and fails especially during moments of inadequate emotional control. Haven't we all found the quality of our speech delivery changing with our feelings as we experience thrill, anger, fear, joy or other such strong emotions? For the stammerer, this 'tripping' occurs much more frequently than it does for normal speakers. Whenever he faces what he perceives as a 'feared' situation, the stammerer adopts a mind-set which triggers off spasms of speech-blocks. Such fears can also center around certain speech sounds or even certain people.

Scientists have yet to pin-point the exact cause of stammering. In ancient times, the condition was attributed to every possible source including sometimes the devil himself. One can only guess the varieties of tortures undergone by stammerers in their quest for speech fluency in those days. Even now, stammering has remained a confusing speech impediment for the sufferer as well as for those who have attempted to cure it through medicines.

One stammerer poignantly asks :
I can see
I can hear
I can sprightly walk.
Why do all my problems surface When I try to talk?

In their desperate search for fluency, many stammerers in India subject themselves to a myriad of so-called treatments ranging from swallowing vile concoctions to allowing themselves to be pierced with needles and cut with knives. Actually, such treatments hold no relevance to the problem of stammering and only cause greater frustration in the long run.

Yoga and meditation might really hold the key to solving the problem of stammering. With the greater sense of emotional and intellectual balance that these disciplines promote, the stammerer might find them of tremendous help in his attempts to develop
better control over his speech.

Dr. Edward Conture, Professor of Speech Pathology at Syracuse University, New York, talks about what causes stammering :

"Things that cause stammering may be, and probably are, quite different from the things that keep it going, aggravate or worsen it. For example, if you mishandle a knife, you may cut your finger. The knife causes the cut and initial pain. Salt rubbed into the cut makes the pain continue or even worsen it but the salt does not cause the cut". Dr. Conture says, scientists "...still haven't found the 'knife' that causes stammering. However, we do know something about the 'salt' that keeps it going, makes it worse or aggravates it".

These are aspects which can be changed through self-therapy to help the person overcome his speaking difficulty.

Many of the Non-stammerers might experience a feeling of embarrassment when we converse with stammerers; some of us look away while others go ahead to complete their sentences for them. In talking with a stammerer, the following hints might be of help:

Listen to what is said, not how it is said.
Be patient and don't hurry the person talking.
Try to maintain natural eye contact.
Simplistic advice ("breathe properly", "don't worry", "don't be afraid", etc.) though well- meant is not always helpful.
Stammerers have difficulty when talking but don't assume they are stupid or confused about what they are saying.
Many stammerers have difficulty when they speak on the telephone. Please do not hang up if the caller is taking longer than usual or if he is silent for a while.
Stammerers usually try and hide their speech problem from their listeners. This attempt at camouflage is counter-productive because it only acts as psychological 'fuel' for even more speech-blocks. If the stammerer is open about his speech difficulty, he experiences lesser stress and is able to speak with greater control.

In the final analysis, stammering can be overcome if the sufferer seeks scientific, professional guidance and is ready to work towards achieving speech fluency through regular practice of therapeutic techniques. It certainly cannot disappear by ingesting some magic potent!

This article is taken from :-

link

Do's and Don'ts for the Non-PWS

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:03:00 +0000

The hatred for stammering by all PWS has it's origin in the kind of reaction that they are met with when talking to the world, or the non-PWS which are relatively more fluent ( I won't say fluent ) then the PWS. A PWS will be at his / her ease when speaking to another PWS, because they respond just the way that is comfortable to the speaker.

This happens because non-PWS cannot relate to what goes behind a PWS mind. And they are always ill-prepared on how to deal with the situation when they have to communicate with a PWS. So, here's a list of Do's and Don'ts for the non-PWS, that may help to give rise to a better and productive conversation :

Do's
1. Do listen to him / her with patience. Give him / her time.
2. Do maintain a straight eye contact with him / her.
3. Do motivate and encourage him / her to do things, like extra-carricular, creative, with regards to speech or things related to work.

Don'ts
1. Don't complete the sentences / words for a him / her.
2. Don't make crooked faces by stretching your eye-brows or ears.
3. Don't nod without understanding.
4. Don't start speaking your sentence while he / she is stammering and is completing his / her sentence.
5. Don't hesitate to talk to a PWS because he / she might stammer.

by Harish Usgaonker

8th meeting of Jammu SHG

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:16:00 +0000

On 29th Nov(Sunday) we had our 8th meeting of Jammu SHG. This was the longest one. Started at 11 am and went on to around 2:45 pm. We started our meeting with usual discussion.Rajesh cleared the 2nd round of the interview and got selected. Then we moved on to Sharing our Ambitions.

Each and everyone of us is very Ambitious and we talked about that from our school time to present day Ambition. Bcoz we are having some kiddish Ambitions in school and as we grew up and responsibilities increases, our Ambitions also changes.

Then we started discussing our fretful encounters with something supernatural or Paranormal Activities like Ghosts,spirits etc, if any.All this was increasing our excitement and triggering stammering but we tried our best to handle this excitement and control our stammering.

After a long discussion of our encounters with supernatural things I began to tell them about the concept of Parallel universes,CERN's Large Hadron Collider(LHC) experiment. Then we discussed few more interesting topics such as UFOs, Aliens,Area 51,John Titor(the Time Traveler) etc.

All the topics were very interesting and thatz why it took around 4 hours to discuss it all. We started these topics bcoz I think that we got bored of talking about stammering and techniques and other stuff related to stammering. So we should have this kindaa chat sometimes in our SHG meetings.

This meeting was very much interesting, especially for me, bcoz I was having a lot about these things within me and finally It came out and now I am feeling very very relaxed. Same will be with Addy and Rajesh too . We also discussed about girls,love etc. So this was even more interesting.....jus kidding.

So this was all about our 8th meeting.Stay tuned to get more on our 9th meeting.

Success! In Spite Of (or maybe because of?) Stuttering - Personal Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:39:00 +0000

Robert's Story: Frustration Gave Me Strength to Prove Myself

As far as I can remember, for the whole of my childhood, I have been stuttering, possibly since the age of 3. According to my mother my stuttering was a consequence of great fear, which expressed itself through the many nightmares I had when I was a small child.

Before I started school I had a lot of friends. We played and had fun. But my primary school years were rather sad. I was plagued by teasing at school. Neither the teachers nor the higher authority of the school supported me. Those schooldays were very frustrating and emotionally a very heavy burden. Due to these unbearable tortures at school, I decided to quit school at the age of 14. School left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Although I was a good student, I simply could not tolerate it that people were laughing at me all the time.

However, in my opinion, this frustration gave me the strength to prove myself to my relatives and friends. I would show them that I was a capable person!

I developed myself through self study and vigilance and started to gain confidence as I went along my own way. I made new friends, who accepted me for what I was. During the weekends my parents allowed me to go out and my friends and I went out motorcrossing in the claypits. We sometimes cycled with more than 10 friends to neighboring dances and pubs. I met some girls and at the age of 17 got to know the woman I married at the age of 21. We raised a family of two daughters who are now also married and who have given us 5 adorable grandchildren.

Let me go back in time, to the point where school left me with an image of me standing at the edge of society. I felt worthless. Slowly I gained confidence through self development. At the age of 18 I asked my parents to give me a loan of 500.000 Bef (equal now to about 12.500 Euro) and I set up my own business.

The amount of money did not scare me a lot, I had the drive to show everyone what my capabilities were. I felt smart, I could reason enough so I could be an entrepreneur. So I started up my own small scale business in the region in technical material. I went out to visit customers, made my purchases and took a great deal of time for market research.

In a short time, I traveled to neighboring countries to check out the products sold there and I got a good picture of the potential market, learning the needs of the customers.

After a lot of math, I calculated that it would be possible to produce these products myself. I started my first successful production unit and we needed to add more units soon after.

In the meanwhile my children and sons in law are also busy in the company. Due to all the efforts, our company has grown to become marketleader in Belgium and on the European front we are also becoming an important player. Currently we have production units in Italy, India and China. The Main office is in Belgium where everything is coordinated. After 35 years of being a businessmen and entrepreneur I can look back at my professional and personal life and I find success.

As you can read, a person who stutters can also have a beautiful and rich life.

Not everyone may feel this way, but I personally feel now that all the teasing and the bad luck during my youth, made me stronger.

Tony's Story: Her Narrow-Mindedness Became My Inspiration

At 45 years old, I have stammered for as long as I can remember. I m left handed too, which means that in the 1600s I would certainly have been burned at the stake for my apparent "sorcery".(1) Fortunately, we live in more enlightened times now or do we?

In 1993, I had the privilege of writing in the journal "Speaking Out" about my experiences of stammering in the workplace.(2) Up to that time, I had blatantly been denied promotion in the service industry because of my stammer, then demoted when it re-appeared after being in remission for a while. I was not imagining any conspiracy theories; my employers told me quite clearly that stammering and a management position could not mix. This well known international organisation (still in business today) felt that my stammer would present a poor image of the company to its customers. So aged 29, I was removed from my junior executive position and given a job as an installation technician. My salary was halved, and future prospects looked distinctly bleak. Stammering at job interviews made it difficult for me to find alternative work, so I stayed on until my local office was closed down, resulting in redundancy. But things began to improve, and in my 1993 article, I wrote about a new opportunity that I had been offered within the NHS. Unbelievably, I was successful at interview, despite stammering so severely that I was practically incomprehensible.

Career-wise, a completely fresh start was required. I had been given a good job in the NHS, helping GPs and other health care professionals to evaluate the quality of their work. Having left school half-way through A levels, I had no real qualifications, which unfortunately limited any future prospects. My line manager, however, suggested that I might like to undertake a certificate in health services management, and provided some funding as well as protected time to study. My job gradually became more interesting, and I was eventually made a manager. In a management reshuffle (for which the NHS is still famous), my job was transferred over to the public health department. Unexpectedly, it turned out that completion of the management certificate made me eligible to read part-time for a Master of Public Health degree (MPH), and I was again encouraged and helped to enrol. This introduced me to the world of medical research and epidemiology, which I found utterly fascinating. Upon graduating with my MPH, the university offered me a job as a researcher carrying out systematic reviews of evidence for new medical technologies. This work gave me some enormously valuable practical skills in epidemiology.

I subsequently applied for a position at a different university, involving the development and management of a new MPH course, and to my amazement was offered it. Now, being a stammering NHS manager was one thing, but as you may imagine, the prospect of becoming a stammering lecturer fell way outside my comfort zone. Calling my new boss to accept the post, I protested "but my stammer - how will I get on with the lectures?" "Don't worry", she replied, "it's rather endearing" To be honest, I did not feel sufficiently competent to take on this challenge, but with hard work and plenty of luck, a course was successfully launched. With regard to the stammer, the only option was to buckle down and get on with it. So I informed my first lecture theatre full of students that some unexpected gyrations or facial contortions may occur, and these would be caused by a stutter rather than any other habit. And so for several years I stuttered profusely during lectures, but no-one appeared to laugh, and amazingly no complaints were made.

Being a public health academic was all very well, but I felt a need to update my practical skills to inform the academic activities. An opportunity to re-join the NHS in my current role as a specialist in public health presented itself, a job I am enjoying very much. I am also able to combine public health practice with acadaemia, thanks to a professorship in epidemiology that I now hold.

So installation technician to professor - that's not a bad career progression, is it? Of course, none of this would have happened without the many opportunities I have been given by people who saw through the stammer and believed in me.

By far the most important event since 1993 is that I have become a father, and have two gorgeous and exuberant children aged 6 and 11. They find the stutter a little quirky, but do not make fun of it. One intriguing point is that my family and several students tell me that they no longer notice my stammer. Indeed, it is significant that I have never come across anyone within either the NHS or acadaemia who appears to have a problem with my stammer a very different situation to my experience in industry.

So what's the point of this article? To make me sound like a lucky chap? Not really. The point is that we stammerers all have potential, but people sometimes want to make us feel inferior. When I was 18, a women, whose rudeness I am told was justified by her occupying a position of trust at work, told me that with a stammer I would could never aspire to anything beyond a basic manual job. I have taken pride in spending the last 27 years defying her! Although these individuals would use their narrow-mindedness to deny us our deserved success, we must believe in ourselves and be strong in our determination to break through these barriers. Then, with luck, we can triumph and conquer the flames of bigotry.

This article is taken from :-

http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad9/papers/stewart9.html

7th meeting of Jammu SHG

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:09:00 +0000

On 22nd Nov, we had our 7th meeting of jammu SHG. Aditya didn't come bcoz he was not well.So it was only Rajesh and me. I am in contact with 2 more pws from last 3 months and every time they promise that they will come to attend the meeting but they never show up.
So its their bad luck that they doesn't want to help themselves.

We started the meeting with some casual talks. Then we talked about Rajesh's interview that he had yesterday.Rajesh is already working in a finance company but he is looking for a better job. So he went for an interview in a Sub-sis of Intex. There was an opening for an Accountant.

About his Interview :-

There were around 50 people and out of them 10 were applying for the same post for which R is applying.Each and everyone of them was having lots of experience.Someone with 10 yrs,5 yrs and the least was with 2 years of experience. And here was Rajesh with only 6 months of experience.But still he went for the interview. The interviewer asked him to introduce himself. He started with a lil bit of hesitation and thus stammering. He was a bit shy at the beginning bcoz of his stammering. But suddenly the thought of Acceptance came into his mind and without any shame he started his Introduction.

The interviewer thought that he is a lil nervous and asked him to relax. Then R became more confident and kept on answering without any hesitation. He explained each and everything regarding Accounts in detail. And he cleared the 1st round.

At the end of the interview, the interviewer was so much impressed by his communication skills that he even gave his personal contact number to R. Out of 10, only 2 were selected and R was one of them. Now he is waiting for their call for 2nd round. I bet he will clear that too.

He said that he just used the simple techniques like slow speech, costal Breathing and prolongation and his communication was just perfect.
After that we disscussed a few more things about the Movie "The Unspeakable" and few more things.

American Institute for Stuttering - 3rd Annual Benefit Gala

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:39:00 +0000

On June 8, 2009, the American Institute for Stuttering held its 3rd Annual Benefit Gala at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City. TD Ameritrade chairman Joe Moglia and British actress Emily Blunt were recipients of the Freeing Voices, Changing Lives Award to recognize them as great achievers who have overcome their stuttering. Esteemed actor Sam Waterston emceed the event, and special guests included Byron Pitts, Marc Bouwer, and Barbara Walters.

Great video to watch.Here is the youtube link :-

Youtube link

6th meeting of Jammu SHG

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:12:00 +0000

On 15th Nov, we had our 6th meeting of Jammu SHG. This meeting was attended by three members which started at 11 am and went on to 1:30 pm. According to the Photograph, starting from the left, it was Rajesh ,me and Aditya.

We started this meeting with a lil bit of Bouncing and Voluntary stammering.On our way to our meeting place ,We saw a guy sitting on a bench at a distance. Aditya went to him and asked him to take our photograph using some Bouncing or Voluntary stammering. This time Aditya was quick and confident.

Then we sat at our usual meeting place and discussed about stammering in our life. Rajesh said that today he has achieved so much in his life just bcoz of his stammering. He said that instead of being here, he would ve been somewhere else doing wrong things like most of the young people are doing for example taking drugs or wasting time & money by going after girls etc.And I totally agreed with him. Bcoz I think that stammering makes us much more Hard working, Determined and above all a kind hearted person who understand the pain of someone else.

Then we discussed about a movie called "front of the class". In this movie I learned loads of things that were even missing in "The unspeakable". This movie is based upon a true story of a Guy named Brad who is having Tourettes syndrome.
Tourettes is also a sort of speech impediment in which the person keeps on making funny sounds even when he is sitting quitely.They have shown a lot of emotions and struggle that Brad goes through .He wants to be a Teacher but gets rejected everytime he goes for an interview.
But he keeps on his fighting spirit and never lets Tourettes to win. After appearing for more than 25 interviews, he gets a job as a teacher in a school.And in the end, he gets an Award of "The best gifted teacher of the year".In his last speech he says that "I got support from My family,my school family,friends and my students. But My best teacher and constant companion was my Tourettes who taught me lots of things.I wouldnt have be here without my Tourettes".
OMG Brad and Rajesh are having similar kindaa thinking.

Then we called Sachin sir on his phone and talked to him for about half an hour(28:10 exact). Sachin sir motivated all of us and also cleared many of our doubts.We also talked to JP and Romi.Romi is from Mumbai and he came to samagra to work on his speech.
He is at the right place. Nothing can be better than Samagra ashram.

After that, on our way back, we once again asked a guy to take our photograph using bouncing technique. Then we started asking him few questions about stammering. But he was a bit confused and said that he had no clue why do people stammer. He was feeling a lil bit uncomfortable.So instead of explaining him why it happens, we thought to leave him alone. It really looked a bit strange to him . Three stammering guys standing around him and firing questions. It was a lil funny.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:58:00 +0000

Ranbir and Katrina rocks.........Never seena bollywood movie showing stammering in this way.
At first I thought that only Ranbir is playing the role of a stammerer but then I came to know that Katrina is also a stammerer in the movie.

APKGK is a story of Prem(Ranbir kapoor) and how he falls in love with the pretty Jenny (Katrina Kaif). And it's the story of how Prem goes from being unable to express his love for Jenny, to finally finding the words to tell her he loves her.

Prem is an unemployed school drop-out who, along with the fellow members of the Happy Club (of which he is President), spends his time conning the local uncles into joining (and coughing up the membership fee to keep the club afloat), mooching meals from his frustrated father, and occasionally arranging an "abduction" (like the one that opens the film) in order to unite couples in true love. It's in the course of one such "abduction" that he meets the pretty Jenny. They become fast friends when they realize they both are given to stammering when overcome with strong emotion. Prem falls in love with Jenny, wants to ask her to be his life partner - but in true filmi fashion, he waits too long to do so.

There is a scene when Katrnia slaps Ranbir, as she feels he is stammering to copy her. But later on she comes to know that he is also a stammerer.So from here the love story starts.

I think this is the first movie in which both the Actor and Actress are playing the role of a stammerer. It was great to see that 1st time in Bollywood history someone has introduced stammering in a positive way and not just for making it a source of fun and comedy for people. Before this shahid also played thr role of a stammerer in Kaminey. But Ranbir and Katrina were better than shahid .

So overall it is a Good movie and all the stammerers must watch this movie.

5th meeting of jammu SHG

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:45:00 +0000

On 8th nov (sunday) we had our 5th SHG meeting in jammu.This meeting started at 3 pm and ended at 5:45 pm. Aditya was a little late but Rajesh reached at the venue on time.
It was also raining a lil bit at that time.Both of us discussed a lil bit about our experience of last week.

Rajesh told me that he was using the prolongation technique and slow speech very effectively. Then after about 10 mins Addy came and we started our session. We discussed few more techniques such as post,pre and In-block corrections.

Then we started playing some games that I learned from JP at samagra.After that we started a story telling session which was totally based upon our imagination.One of us was suppose to start the story by saying one or two sentences and then the next person had to use his imagination and start the story from where the other person left . It was really fun and we all enjoyed this.

Then Rajesh said that we should start speaking on a topic which triggers us to get more excited and stressed.Bcoz it is easy to talk casually and we are quite a lot fluent .But we suddenly start stammering when we get too much excited and stressed. So we started a different topic and the result was really surprising.
I started stammering and my speech got out of control. I was trying to implement the techniques but was not able to do so.My rate of speech also increased and was not able to control my breathing too. This was what R was trying to prove and he was right.
So next time we will try to have a small discussion on this kindaa topic and we'll try to control ourselves and our stammer too.

Then Addy told us about the latest movie "Ajab prem ki gazab kahani" in which both Ranbir and Katrina are playing the role of a stammerer. So this week I am going to watch this movie too.

4th meeting of jammu SHG

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:20:00 +0000

On 1st nov (sunday) we had our 4th SHG meeting in jammu.This meeting started at 4 pm and ended at 6:15 pm. In this meeting, there were 3 members(Aditya, Rajesh(new member) and me) .

First of all we started introducing ourselves.R is working in a finance company.He never got a chance to go for a speech therapy. So it was our duty to tell him about the few key points that would help him to manage his stammer.

R came to know about the Jammu SHG through a social networking site (orkut). So I visited his orkut profile to know a lil bit more about him.His profile was quite interesting but there was no Communities related to stammering in his community section.
So I got a hint that he is still hiding his stammer. So my main focus was to let him know the benifits of Accepting stammering.

Aditya and I focused on Acceptance for the first 1 hour or so.R also shared some of his feelings with us. R said that he is very ashamed of his stammer and that was the reason why he didn't joined any stammering community on orkut. He said that he just hated the word "stammer".
He was not having too much secondary symptoms. Then he told us that because he is working in a finance company, very often he has to speak the word "credit" and this was the word on which he struggles the most. The initial sound of kkkkk was the problem . So we started to explain him the techniques such as bouncing,prolongation ,light contact etc which would help him to speak the difficult words with ease.

We also told him about the importance Diaphragm breathing and slow rate of speech. I think that about 80% of our stammering goes away if we breathe properly while speaking and try to speak as slow as we can. The slow rate of speech wont be easy for anyone and will take sometime to get use to this rate of speech. It would be good if we keep on practicing this slow speech and implement it in real life situations .

In order to totally change his attitude towards stammering, the documentry movie "The unspeakable" by john paskievich is very important. So in our next meeting I am going to give him few documentry movies on stammering.

Controlling your Emotions

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:23:00 +0000

This is also one of the important aspect that can help us to maintain our fluency.

Just last night I was drunk and enjoying with ma cousins and friends.My speech was so fluent coz i was uncouncious at that time. I talked non stop for atleast 1 hour and didnt stammered on a single word. But due to this I got too much excited and stammered a lil bit on a word unluckily.And that was it.

One of my cousins started copying my stammering speech and makingfun of me. There were about 15 people over there and all started staring at me.Suddenly I became councious and that feeling of embarrassment came back and I felt like crying. But some how I managedto control maself and kept on talking without caring much about all of them staring at me.

That whole time from that party untill i reached home was like a nightmare to me. It was a time during which I didnt thought of anything else other then that embarrassing moment.It was the most embarrassing moment in ma life.It was just that single incident coming into ma mind again and again.But I know that i ve to face these kindaa situations in future too. Soi ve to be strong from inside in order to face these kind of embarrassing situations.

And one more thing was, that my cousins were also drunk and may be he didnt mean to do that (copying my stammer).

Anywayz, bcoz of this incident I am able to learn how to control our Emotions, bcoz they also play a vital role in our stammering.

So If you are also a stammerer or stutterer and if some one makes fun of your stammer and tries to copy your speech in front of group of people , you should just pass a smile and dont bother about this.Dont let these embarrassing moments to get accumulated in the Emotional part of ur mind. Just let it go.....!!!

3 Mistakes that lead to Stutter

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:32:00 +0000

The path towards fluency may be rough, tough and difficult....but never impossible...

“It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away…” goes the verse from the famous song by the rock band “Boyzone”. Truly, communication plays a very important role today in our daily lives. People with strikingly good communication skills seem to win the hearts of people in society, and make a mark in their minds. Every classifieds in the newspapers coming from big multi-nationals, have “Excellent communication skills” as a requirement. Today’s is a competitive world, and the ability to ‘sell yourself’, has become a primary requisite, in the world wherein people are capable of selling peanuts for a billion bucks. I am a part of the same world, with challenges just a stretch more… It’s because I’ve been battling a battle against my words. Medically known as ‘Stammering’ or ‘Stuttering’, it’s a battle that is fought by billions of people round the country and the entire globe. And that’s a sort of consolation that it gives, that I am not alone in this battle. The million dollar question is – how we are going to win this battle, and climb the ladder of success, in this communication-driven world?

I was once asked why I stammer. I had no answer to the question that time. And if I ever had an answer, then I wouldn’t have been stammering. The causes of stammering as explained by medical science can be many. The therapists have many explanations for the factors leading to the condition. But, being a part of this battle, I can assert that, the real cause is the mind. You primarily stammer, because you think you will stammer.
People do have problems in this world. But most of those problems are being kept private. This is one problem that cannot be shielded easily as it is associated with the most important aspect of humans. The very aspect that separates us humans from the animals. Obviously, it would lead to many embarrassing situations, demoralizing the person, and consequently, affecting his or her whole persona.

Having lived with this problem over the years, I have realized many things related to the same. I have analyzed the problem through my experiences and my other friends with the same problem, and listed out three key things that lead to or aggravate ‘stammering’:

1. Hasty or fast speech: This phenomenon persists in almost all of the stammerers. In an anticipation that we would stammer, we want to get away with the sentence as fast as possible, because of which we tend to speak at a break-neck speed. This instead of aiding, worsens the problem.

2. Distorted or no breathing while talking: This is another reason many stammerers experience blocks while talking. There is no co-ordination between breathing and talking. If you observe a fluent person speaking, you will notice that he will always take a breath in, before starting to speak. We stammerers, are so concerned about stammering that we don’t bother to inhale before starting to speak.

3. Talking in excitement: This is a vicious cycle. Stammering or stammering experiences in the past, leads to excitement while speaking, which in turn leads to stammering the next time we talk.

Medical science has an antidote for everything. There are pain-killers for pain, and paracetamol for cold and fever. Do we have an antidote for stammering? Well, I would say ‘yes’. The antidote is ‘Will power’, and ‘Attitude’. In my quest for fluency, I have visited many therapist, and speech experts. I have received and tried loads of tips and techniques. I have realized that whichever techniques you may try, finally it boils down to your will power. You should have immense will power to do away with your faulty style of speaking, and dedicatedly follow the style that you think is right for you. The correct style can be realized by analyzing yourself with respect to your severity, external factors affecting your stammering, your strengths and weaknesses. And finally it’s the attitude with which you approach this problem that counts. The problem may well demoralize you, but it’s your attitude that gives you strength to come back strong and try again the next time. Brooding over the ugly situations of the past serves no purpose. But learning from the past is the key.

Finally, it always helps to have role models. The biggest role models for me have been the Bollywood star, Hrithik Roshan and Partha Bagchi. Both have been stammers at some point of time in their lives, and they overcame it. Somehow, it gives me hope that one can overcome stammering. If these people did it, so can I. The key to success lies in your own hands. And these great people have discovered this key and unleashed its magic. The roadmap towards fluency lies within us.

The journey towards fluency has never been a smooth ride, but a roller-coaster ride altogether. You have your ups and downs. But the goal is to be persistent in your ‘ups’. I’ve been battling with words for years. I may have won some battles, and lost some, but in the long run, I feel I am on my way to win the war.

written by :- Harish Usgaonkar

Stammer Sent Bruce Willis to Bullies

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:28:00 +0000

Bruce Willis was bullied as a child because he stuttered. The 'Live Free or Die Hard' actor developed a stutter at the age of eight and was teased as a result.

Bruce said: "I could barely talk sometimes. I still had friends but I was bullied a lot. The bullying meant I also learned how to fight. Everyone knew not to f**k with me because they knew they'd get their ass kicked."

Bruce discovered joining a drama club allowed him to express himself and by the time he turned 16, his stutter had disappeared when he performed. He said: "I was in a play and when I got onstage I stopped stuttering - I couldn't believe it. I realised that the reason the stutter stopped was because I was acting."

His speech impediment continued throughout high school. Bruce eventually enrolled in a New Jersey drama college, and his professors helped to cure his stutter completely.

An important observation...!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:52:00 +0000

Today I was interacting with some of the guests in a party. One of them asked me about the college from where I did my graduation.And believe me, i was not able to speak out the word "Rayat", thatz my college. I was doing "Rrrrrrrrrrrrr". So this means that I am having difficulty in speaking out the letter "R". I don't think so. I already spoke the word "R", so the difficulty was not with this word.

The main problem was the sound "A". Bcoz i already said "R"... but the rest of the word was not coming out i.e. "ayat".This means the problem is with the letter "a" and not "r".

So in order to overcome this problem , I am practicing by saying the rest of the word i.e. "aaaayat" again & again. And when i am comfortable with that word, just add "r" before that .So this becomes "Raaaayat".
There you go..........

Why we dont stutter while singing..??

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:54:00 +0000

I posted this question on ISAD online conference .There are many experts who will write an answer to your question and clear your doubts.

So here are some of the replies I got from the Experts :-

1)Charley Adams said :-

We have lots of ideas about why people who stutter can sing without stuttering.

First, think about speech rate; if you listen to words in a song carefully, you will realize that they are produced much more slowly than they would be produced in speech. We know that dramatically slowing down your speech rate is a powerful fluency-inducing condition, so this is a partial explanation.

Second,many people who stutter can read aloud with greater fluency than they can speak spontaneously; singing is much the same, as the words are chosen for you.

Third, music has a more regular rythym than speech, which also tends to enhance fluency.

Finally, and perhaps most compelling, is that speech and language are processed predominantly in the left hemisphere of the brain for most people, while music tends to be processed in the right hemisphere. So in an important sense, you are using a different part of your brain when you sing, vs. when you speak.

2)Greg Snyder said :-

Singing uses different neural circuitry, which (apparently) bypasses the stuttered neural fault.

3)Ed Feuer said :-

Singing as in singing songs is communication neutral. Add a message in real-world communication and you have what these days they call a game changer. Van Riper had people who stutter go out into stores, singing their questions such as: "Do you have bananas?" etc. Very quickly blocks began to appear. The old adverse signal-to-noise ratio kicks in.
— Ed Feuer, edfeuer@mts.net

4) Klaas Bakker said :-

Singing differs in many ways from natural speech, and so any physical difference of singing could be part of the explanation of why you don't stutter (as much). When someone sings, or speaks in a sing songy manner, you may bypass some of the brain centers you typically use for speaking (I don't think people sing from the right brain entirely though). When you sing, usually much of the expression is in how you produce the vowels of your speech (they have a certain pitch, intensity and duration, while their stress is related to a rhythimical pattern). All of this could explain why there is less stuttering. Finally, often singing involves speech already formulated by someone else, so it comes from memory. However, if you speak in a sing songy manner, like you described, obviously you are still in control of that. These would be some of my first thoughts looking for an explanation. But any explanation would still need more research to definitely tell.

International Stuttering Awareness Day.......!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:35:00 +0000

International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) occurs on October 22nd and is designed to raise awareness about the challenges that people who stutter experience. ISAD is a joint endeavor by persons who stutter and their families and professionals (educators, researchers and clinicians) interested in stuttering. ISAD provides a framework for building a more humane, just and compassionate world for millions of people who stutter.

2009 presents many challenges that face people who stutter such as economic recession, job loss or anxiety about employment or personal fulfillment. It is vital to create a society, in which people who stutter can develop talents, become advocates for better understanding and become active participants in their future. This year in particular there are many conferences or workshops held around the world. It is an opportunity to take personal steps in changing: you can go to www.isastutter.org for a listing of conferences you can attend.

The online International conference has started on 1st october and you can participate in this conference by clicking here

The contributions in this conference reflect professional and consumer interests about stuttering and are presented by over 70 individuals representing twelve different countries on five different continents. Each paper also has a threaded discussion page for your comments and questions. By October 22, 2009, International Stuttering Awareness Day, the authors of the papers will respond as they wish. Feel free to post your questions/comments at any time and check back on International Stuttering Awareness Day for any response from the author.

So Guys and Gals, participate in the conference, read articles,ask questions,post comments, clear your doubts and spread awareness about stammering .After all its ur day.

Do you have the right mental attitude...??

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:13:00 +0000

Success is in the blood. There are men whom fate can never keep down they march forward in a jaunty manner, and take by divine right the best of everything that the earth affords. But their success is not attained by means of the Samuel Smiles-Connecticut policy. They do not lie in wait, nor scheme, nor fawn, nor seek to adapt their sails to catch the breeze of popular favor. Still, they are ever alert and alive to any good that may come their way, and when it comes they simply appropriate it, and tarrying not, move steadily on.

Good health! Whenever you go out of doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put soul into every hand-clasp.
Do not fear being misunderstood; and never waste a moment thinking about your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your own mind what you would like to do, and then without violence of direction you will move straight to the goal.

Fear is the rock on which we split, and hate the shoal on which many a barque is stranded. When we become fearful, the judgment is as unreliable as the compass of a ship whose hold is full of iron ore; when we hate, we have unshipped the rudder; and if ever we stop to meditate on what the gossips say, we have allowed a hawser to foul the screw.

Keep your mind on the great and splendid thing you would like to do; and then, as the days go gliding by, you will find yourself unconsciously seizing the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire, just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the elements that it needs. Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought that you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual you so admire.

Thought is supreme, and to think is often better than to do.

Preserve a right mental attitude the attitude of courage, frankness and good cheer.

Jacobsen's relaxation technique ........!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:47:00 +0000

The Jacobsen relaxation technique - also referred to as progressive muscles relaxation - is a technique to manage stress. It was developed in 1920s by Edmund Jacobsen. He proposed that muscle tension goes hand-in-hand with anxiety, and by reducing the muscle tension, anxiety can be reduced as well. This famous method of stress control is used by many therapists.

You can follow Jacobsen's methods of handling and managing stress, and relax your muscles, right from the comfort of your home. Jacobsen's technique is basically a 2-step process, and involves relaxing and tensing various muscles. With continued practice, you will understand which muscles are directly linked to relaxation, and which have a close connection to stress and anxiety. You will also come to know which muscles you need to relax to overcome stress.

Deep breathing is an exercise that can be used simultaneously with the Jacobsen's techniques of relaxation. The primary concern of Jacobsen's relaxation technique is to tense and then relax the muscles at a point of time. Deep breathing can be performed while you inhale while the contraction of your muscles take place, and exhale while they are being relaxed.

You should take care that your clothing is comfortable and you should remove your footwear for better relaxation. Relax yourself, and take deep breaths. Try to think of ... absolutely nothing! Once this is done, you can commence Jacobsen's relaxation technique.

It is generally recommended to begin from the feet and move upwards. Start with right foot, then proceed to the left, and then to the calves, thighs and so on. Tensing and relaxing each muscle in turn. To gain the most out of this exercise, as you tense those muscles, also inhale steadily for about 10 seconds; and then slowly start exhaling as those muscles are relaxed. Continue doing this until they feel loosened up.
This process should be repeated on each muscle working your way right up the body to scalp; working with the muscles in your feet, calves, thighs, buttocks, stomach, lower back, biceps, triceps, hands, neck and face, i.e., from the bottom to the top.

Meditation - this simple ancient practice provides stress relief for many folks today. You don't have to be of any particular religion or be religious at all to do it. Just spend about 15 minutes a day in a quiet place to sit down, close your eyes, calm your mind, and focus on your breathing. You will feel refreshed and more relaxed afterwards.

Try using this technique every day for just one week and you will already begin to feel better. Make it a part of your life and you will manage stress quite naturally.

Hrithik - A True Hero........!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:34:00 +0000

Whenever someone used to say that Hrithik had a stammer, I used to think that may be he must have stuttered till the age of 5 or 6 and then with the help of some speech therapy, got over that...but this is not the case. What I learned in the program was completely different. Here is a man who is a Bollywood superstar, super busy and still works for one hour on his speech daily. When the host asked him, for how long did he had this problem, he said since age 6 to till date, which was really surprising to everybody. But he has accepted for what he is and has not stopped at that but has worked hard to achieve whatever he wanted to be in his life. He said he had no option, either he wanted to become an actor or die trying becoming one.

When the host asks him to share one of the embarrassing moments due to his stammer..he shares only one, but then continues with really amazing fact that he always wanted to become an actor; Whenever someone asked him what he wanted to become, he used to say a-a-ac-tor! So how can someone who can't say the word 'actor' did become an actor! The turning point in his life came when once while walking on beach, he saw a group of youngsters doing somersaults and he too wanted to learn it. He tried and tried and finally managed to do it after a lot of practice and struggle,and this thought struck him : Why can't he do the same with his speech!
Other than that he had all the experiences which any person who stammers has gone through..like not being able to order food in a restaurant on his first date. Once he was not confident enough to say the word 'Dubai' on stage while receiving the award for the movie-'Kaho na payar hai' and had to practice it for some time and as he said, finally took the "leap". Just compare his motivation level to any of us and ask yourself: are we ready to work so hard..Are we ready to let go of our lame excuses like shortage of time, family reasons etc.

I know I may be sounding too harsh or strict or preacher-like but thats what these are. How can one reach office or an examination center or to a cinema theatre on time even during rains but cancel their plans to go to self help group meetings to practice their speech goals due to the same? Just be true to yourself and ask what do you want out of life and go ahead and live your life the way you want. All the best!

Hrithik said that he started it right from the scratch like A,B,C,D..........so on. Then he used to practice all the sounds of every letter or alphabet. for eg : all the sounds of the letter A.(aaaaaaa,aaeeeeee,aiiiiiiii etc). After that he used to combine the letters and practice them. Like, if we stammer on the words P or B or T etc. then practice it like paaaaaaa,peeeeeee,poooooo,puuuuuu for P and similarly for rest of them also.

If someone missed that show, you can watch it on youtube. Here are the links :-

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=p7Bz_S1uBEA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=rL51RXmZe6o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=oxkMYBiUZ2k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ZgWyz52s8Hw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=syz3Heqf1OE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=DkoAxHVleNg&feature=related

This post is written by "Jai Prakash Sunda".He is also a recovering stammerer and Co-ordinator of Pune SHG.

3rd meeting of Jammu SHG......!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Manpreet) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:33:00 +0000

On 19th sep(saturday), we had our 3rd meeting of jammu SHG. The main objective of this meeting was to face our fears and the feeling of embarassment that we PWS go through.It is often seen that the attitude of a PWS and fluency in his/her speech, often depends upon the listener reaction to his/her stammer and what kind of facial looks(mostly weird) one gets when he/she stammers.We know that we are suppose to think in a positive way and dont let our emotions to control us.But it is really hard to keep on that positivity everytime we stammer and get a weird look.
This time also, it was only me and Aditya(the other pws in the SHG).At first we sat down and shared our experiences of the last week.we talked for about an hour. Then we started doing our tasks.
As there were only 2 members in the group and we wanted to have a photograph together.So we were in need of a third person who could take our photograph.So our first task was to request someone to take a photograph of both of us.This task was given to Aditya but the condition was that while speaking one has to use the Bouncing technique.We saw three gentleman standing at some distance and smoking. Aditya was ready to do some voluntary stammering by doing some Bouncing while requesting them.He prepared himself and we went to them.But at the last moment I dont know what happened to him and he forgot all of the bouncing technique. He just spoke normally to them. I think this was his first time , so he might be having that feeling of shame and embarassment in him. And here is the photograph :-

Then we saw few boys coming towards us . Once again Aditya was made to go to them and request them to take a photograph of both of us. He again prepared himself and once again he forgot his voluntary stammering and spoke normally. But I jumped in and carried on with my Bouncing technique and did voluntary stammering while asking them a few more things in front of Aditya so that he gets familiar to it.And yes , one of the boy in that group started laughing and mocking on my way of speaking. But nothing bad happened . We also started laughing and we told them about our stammering. But still he was laughing at us and was hiding his face from us . Once again we said that "We people also laugh sometimes on the way we speak and you are also free to laugh my frnd".At last that fellow said sorry to us but then I started laughing and told him to keep on laughing and there is no need to say sorry.After this we felt that there was no feeling of shame and embarassment in us. And that was the objective of this meeting.

After this we saw a french couple with their 2 very sweet kids. I didn't paid much attention towards them and went passed them . But when I turned back, Aditya was shaking hands with them.So atlast he was having that courage in him to talk to strangers, thatz good. I also went to them. The Guys name was David and they came back from srinagar just 2 days ago.They were here on a tour. That french guy was not knowing english and called his wife to interact with us. We told them about our stuttering and our purpose of coming here. We also solved some of their problems bcoz they were not able to find someone who can speak English. Although the french accent of that lady was very difficult to understand but some how we managed to interpret what she was saying and solved their problems.

At last we came out of that place. I gave one more task to Aditya. He was made to go to a shop and buy anything but he had to use that Bouncing technique . Finally ,this time he used the Bouncing technique and stammered voluntarily.

We had a lot of fun in this meeting and we also learned how to tackle with different reactions of listeners towards our stammering.