commentr/StutterJuly 16, 2013

Content

This is probably irrelevant in this day and age, but about 10 years ago in high school foreign language class we had these awful oral quizzes where the teacher had recorded questions on a tape, leaving 20 second intervals for the answers. She'd call out a name, you'd hear the question, and then have to answer it in the 20 seconds or you got a 0. Each student answered several questions in that way. It was in front of the class, time-sensitive, and you had to use precise wording. Awful for someone who blocks. After I got a 0/20 on one of these quizzes despite participating okay in class, she pulled me aside after class, I explained about my stutter, and she redid the quiz right there. I blocked a bit but got my 20/20. From then I'd just do the quizzes separately before class, since they really just took 1-2 minutes, and she skipped me during the classtime go-around. I WAS SO GRATEFUL. Honestly I wished I'd talked to her earlier because that removed a humongous stressor that would leave a knot in my stomach the whole day... Edit: That was the only time I requested or received any modification. Later on in high school we'd prep for the language AP exam, which had a tape recorded section, by doing tape recorder drills. The teacher made us review our drills at home and I cried cuz it sounded so bad, and never really got over it. She told me I had to man up if I wanted to speak a foreign language (true, but kinda harsh). Got about 10 words out in the allotted 90 seconds during the AP test, cried the whole way home. Still got a 5. Stuttering's a big deal sometimes but it's also not.

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceEmotional ExperienceSchool & Work

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionFrustration & AngerSchool & Academic Life