Stuttering Spotlight- Tom Scharstein
Hope everyone has had a great week so far!
For this week’s blog post, I asked my friend Tom Scharstein, a pillar of the stuttering community, to share some thoughts about stuttering. Tom is an amazing leader and total game-changer. He is a proud stutterer from Florida, USA. He has been involved in the stuttering support community for 23 years. Recently serving on the NSA Board of Directors, he had direct oversight of the Adult NSA Chapters. Tom is co-founder of the World Stuttering Network (WSN), with the vision of bringing together all the stuttering support group leaders of the world to share information and help each other reach next level in impact & effectiveness. I urge you strongly to check out Tom’s Facebook Page to stay up to date with the WSN.
Tom Writes:
“Although I am unable to control my emotions resulting from stuttering, I can control my attitude towards it. Maintaining my attitude is either easy or it takes work, depending on what I feed it. Difficulties resulting from my stuttering decreased through the years, and I think it's been a direct result of the natural building of confidence as I've gotten older. I think confidence is THE key to successfully living with stuttering. Confidence might not mean a decrease in stuttering, but you notice it a lot less. And it doesn't affect your life as much.
I don't like the physical act of stuttering. I don't like the endless silence of a block. I'd rather not stutter. Would my life be different if I didn't stutter? Probably. But, would it be better? DOUBTFUL. Most of what I have is because of stuttering. My family, my career path (which is now a business), my closest friends, places I've seen...all directly connected or resultant from stuttering. I am eternally grateful for my life.
Life changes for us when we SPEAK. When we talk, we start getting what we want. And I think that's the most important goal of stuttering support: To get people who stutter talking. I support whatever makes that happen. We can NEVER have too many groups, organizations, podcasts, or any other opportunities for people who stutter to talk. In fact, I believe that EVERYONE who wants to speak at any stuttering event SHOULD be given the opportunity. Everything should be a YES!
What I'm really excited about is how the world stuttering community has come together during the past couple years. Our world has transformed with 'global bonding'. Through virtual connection, it doesn't matter what part of the earth you live in. You can plug into the stuttering community and form new, meaningful friendships. Virtual support groups have become just as impacting as in-person groups. And a whole lot easier to attend!
The world has become a better place for people who stutter, and it keeps getting better. I am deeply honored to serve with an incredible team that leads the World Stuttering Network (WSN). Good stuff ahead. ALWAYS!”
Just wow. Amazing words from Tom, I personally think he is so inspiring! Once again, thank you so much for your insight!
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