| Having a speech impediment is no laughing matter, | | | | The lady asked me again and guess what? Yes, I |
| far from it. I should know after having had a | | | | could not say the word and it came out as |
| stammer, or as some people call it a stutter, for | | | | ssssssssssssssseven. I felt totally humiliated, not |
| eighteen years. If I were to describe what my life | | | | for the first time of course, but tried to act as if |
| was like during this period I would just say that it | | | | I had said it fluently. From that day forward I |
| was 'a battle'. In this article I am going to be | | | | made sure that I did not use pump number seven |
| writing about some of the struggles that I had to | | | | again! |
| deal with and about how the stammer affected | | | | Similar things would happen to me when ordering |
| my life. | | | | items such as drinks from a bar. I would revert |
| The average fluent person does not realise just | | | | to pointing at a certain bottle of beer and would |
| how lucky they are. Having a stammer affects | | | | hold up three fingers to signal that I wanted three |
| your ability to carry out what should be the most | | | | bottles, as a way of coping. I should be enjoying |
| simplest of tasks. As an example, I will never | | | | going out socialising with my friends but instead it |
| forget the time when I was around eighteen | | | | would turn into one big choir. |
| years of age, when I went to purchase some | | | | Attending an interview, making a phone call, |
| petrol. After filling up the car I proceeded to enter | | | | answering the phone, reading out aloud from a |
| the shop to pay etc. The lady behind the counter | | | | book at school and general conversation were |
| asked me which petrol pump I had used, for | | | | other areas of weakness. Surely life should not be |
| whatever reason I had not even looked and | | | | this difficult. |
| therefore had to take a quick check. I saw that it | | | | I took heart from the fact that I would not |
| was pump number seven and straight away a | | | | stammer when I was singing, when I was |
| demon came into my head and informed me that | | | | shouting or when I was drunk. I felt confident |
| I would not be able to say the word. I have | | | | that I would one day achieve fluency, this day |
| always attempted to ignore these voices from | | | | arrived twelve years ago when I was aged |
| my head; however this is easier said than done. | | | | twenty two. Life now seems so easy! |