Hi,

I don't know. I am sure that it will come to you once you take your focus off of "wanting" to do something to help. Funny how that shows up.

The actor, James Earl Jones, who was/is the voice of Darth Vadar on Star Wars is a stutterer. He said that he had his greatest trouble when he is trying to speak without first knowing what he was going to say. Which, I guess, is why being an actor is so suited to him.

So, like you said, when your professor is speaking about that which he knows very well, he doesn't have as much trouble as when he is addressing that which is ?boring? to him.

He obviously knows his stuff, but maybe a prepared speech would be handy for him?

I have also heard of people who have cured themselves of stuttering, but I don't recall what they did to do it.

just-n

Soulful,

Any change in the speaking of your art professor?

Wow! He sounds like one of the bravest people I know!

Imagine even coming to class when you know darn well students will make faces and roll their eyes!

One great show I saw years ago on TV was a demonstration that, reading together, speech impediments vanished. It was astonishing.

If your professor had, at least a portion of his lesson prepared in advance, and reviewed with an assistant, he might feel more at ease reading the beginning of the lesson together with the assistant...or with the whole class! (Or with the first student to snigger. I can see him crooking his finger at his worst offender, calling the student up to read the beginning of the lesson, aloud, in front of everyone. He-he-he.)

Several ideas tripped through my head while reading your question...

...How would he do if his listener wasn't actually looking at him...politely distracted and not 'hanging' on his next word?

...Would surprise help? What would happen if someone in his audience flashed a print of his subject, or something he is passionate about?

...Would hand gestures help? Could he throw in hand gestures instructing a student to do something while he was stuck on a word? ...Something funny; or as simple as putting away his umbrella? Gesturing for a student to come up and pat his back while he is stuck might break the ice.

...Could he speak more easily if he were to turn his back on the students...even just for a moment? Or to speak a sentence in sing-song? Or to play a snippet of comedy to distract people?

Just being a boy helped my husband grow out of his sudden onset stammering at age six...though it took four years. His began almost completely physically as the teacher tied his best hand, his left, behind his back. Of course, the meanness of the act did nothing for his innocent first days at school.

Dh is in his eighties, but always remembers that teacher's name.

Good luck to you and your brave professor.


Sheesh! Did you know that fear of speaking in public is the number one phobia in all the world?

(Come to think of it, it's the ones without this phobia you have to worry about!)

I mean, even posting a sentence or two on CureZone gets some people!

Fledgling


P.S. How about posture lessons and exercises? Maybe it is more physical than he knows. I highly recommend the Alexander Technique. The Dorn Method, here on CureZone, looks very promising.

To Soulful Survivor: I just saw your post from '07 so I hope you still read this. First I want to applaud you for seeing beyond your professor's speech disability and recognizing that he is "fantastically gifted". I've been married for 25 years to a kind,intelligent,handsome man who happens to stutter. Perhaps because I was always interested in learning language (I took 4 years of French and 3 of Spanish simultaneously in high school), I was able to see past the different speech pattern and get to know this wonderful man. Several times he has shared with me stories of his humiliation (in school, especially--and made worse by having moved many times during his school years. It seems just when the other students had gotten past it, he was forced to move again.) His parents were Christian ministers who believed that if God didn't heal him, it was because he didn't have enough faith. Hence, no speech testing or therapy. As an adult he became an alcoholic, and I truly believe it was because he was trying to hide from his disability. Now the good part. First, he's a recovering alcoholic of 17 years. Second, after seeing an article on Discovery Channel about an ear feedback device to help stutterers, I asked if he would be interested in pursuing it. (The device featured was called Fluency Master, however, we eventually purchased a similar device, called a "SpeechEasy",in part due to the availability of a technician in our area). This device actually echoes the speaker's own words back into his ear, but at a different pitch. It is not a cure, but it has helped my husband's speech, and more than that, his confidence. It's drawback is the price. Insurance paid for a hearing test by an audiologist, and a consultion with a speech therapist. However, insurance does not cover the cost of the device, which is approximately $5000, payable in advance. (The therapist who reps these for the maker did take plenty of time before and after fitting him with the device, but we still had nagging doubts of spending that much money for something "iffy". But it turned out to be a Godsend to my husband.) Before seeing the Discovery Channel we had never heard of this device. Perhaps you could suggest it to your professor, or if that might create an embarassing situation, you could request info from these companies--you can find them on the net--and mail a brochure to him. It would then be his decision whether to pursue this. Good luck to you and to your friend and to all of those out there who suffer these problems. And don't be too hard on your classmates, one day they or someone they love may be stricken with something beyond their control, and thoughts of this prof. and his bravery may cause a little squirming in their conscience. Age and hard knocks will bring them wisdom one day!

I'm rereading this thread and admiring all the suggestions, and hoping he is free of any bother.

Rereading, I wonder if the constriction doesn't lie in the expectations of the speaker.

None of us really knows how we appear, and sound, to others...and how we change with life experiences, and mood...and our perceptions of how others are receiving us.


We met a computer genius recently, who happens to be blind.

In passing, he mentioned that some people he meets in social situations, just stop speaking to him, turn, and walk away...with not so much as a 'goodbye'.

My first thought was that those folks didn't see how he was receiving them. Perhaps they needed to consider the blind experience a little, and hadn't done that yet.


I very much like the idea of deciding, definitely, what you want to do, and then forgetting about the decision. Once we make a statement to ourselves, the sub-conscious goes to work on it while we get on with other thoughts and tasks at hand. This method works!


Hoping that your professor has found some ways, and is enjoying his art classes tremendously!


Hm-m-m...like some other situations, in a roomful of opinions, HIS is the only one that counts. (He-he-he.)

Happy Holidays, everyone...arms around you...this has been a great year.

Fledgling