From: Ms Irma Vivi - High School Teacher,  Stratford Preparatory , San Jose, CA

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Questions

1)  Have you encountered people with stammering ? How often?

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 Answer:  Yes, I have encountered people with stammering. Couple of students, Viraj being one of them, and an uncle I have from my mom's side.  It's not very often.

 

2)  What is your first reaction when you interact with a person that is stammering/ stuttering?

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Answer:  I try to be patient, as I know they need to process and need a couple of seconds to put their words together.

 

3)  After the initial reaction is past, what are the subsequent thoughts in your mind? Do you transition the focus on the content? How long does it take?

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 Answer:  The conversation continues focusing on content, it takes less than a second to understand the condition and get used to it. 

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4) Educators – How do you as an educator/ teacher internalize and communicate more effectively with kids who have stammering/stuttering

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 Answer: I keep my attention and leave them time to talk. I try not to interrupt and wait until they are done. 

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5) Does stammering/stuttering make you feel impatient?

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 Answer:  No, because it's a really short time, they just need a second more to process and put their words together. 

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6) Some techniques include speaking slowly and with elongated starts to words. Many stammering kids feel that this sounds unnatural and would feel funny/odd to the listener. How would you feel if someone uses such technics to avoid/ get over stuttering?

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Answer:  I have used some of these techniques myself as English is my second language, I need to go slower and breathe in between words to catch up with the correct words. Many people do this, and I think it is normal as each person has a different verbal speed.