Day of Sympathy #2

For my class I was assigned to have a speech impairment. The speech impairment was stuttering. I was required to go to a help desk and ask for help with something. I asked where was the nearest bathroom. I also had to ask for assistance while at the store. I have to admit this was more difficult to complete than the wheel chair assignment. I practiced a lot before I attempted it, and found that I did not sound very convincing. I felt nervous to address the people. Both people that I spoke with were very nice and patient with me, but I feel that this might not also be the case with those that have a problem with stuttering. I could imagine that not only would I be afraid to talk to others, I would often be frustrated not being able to communicate the way that I would like. Language and communication are very important, and I cannot imagine how much of a struggle it would be to have a disorder like this for an extended period of time. Even though there is help through speech pathology, often times, the disorder can remain throughout the person's life. I hope that in the future I might be able to not get impatient with those that struggle with speech disorders. For more information on this topic, here is a link on stuttering.