Here it is for you!

* Do you think that stuttering is a cognitive och physical issue?
- I'm a big believer that stuttering is more of a genetic issue than a physical or behavioral issue. Researchers such as David McGuire are coming closer every day to find the genetic causes of stuttering. They know that stuttering often runs in families, sometimes with siblings, sometimes with parents, sometimes with other relatives. One of my uncles stutters, and my brother also stuttered for a few years. I can still "catch" him on occasion, but it's hardly noticeable. I was the "lucky" one in my family that held on to my stuttering throughout my life. I started stuttering when I was about 5 years old. I'm now 61.
* Do you think the stutterering often gets worse because of negative beliefs,
such as "If I stutter, I'll look like a fool", etc?
- I think it's very obvious that the more we try to hide our stuttering, the worse it becomes. I find it much easier, now, to get my stuttering out into the "open". I find that takes a LOT of the pressure off of me and also makes the listener more at ease, which leads to more fluent speech, for me.
*Are there any successfull therapies for stuttering out there?
- Depends what your meaning of "successful" is. I've gone through a lot of stuttering therapy, and I've taken something from each type of therapy. Today, the speech therapists no longer try to get people who stutter perfectly fluent. That's self defeating, it's not usually going to happen. The most successful stuttering therapy deals with both the "mechanics" of stuttering and the attitudes about our stuttering.
*Do you think it is important for the stutterer to accept that he or she sometimes stutter,
and to not feel bad when he or she does that?
- Since I have became a member of the National Stuttering Association, and attended my first NSA conference, in 1995, my whole attitude about my stuttering has changed. Stuttering doesn't define us, but it is a part of me. I no longer feel the shame, guilt, of fear about my stuttering. One thing that the NSA stresses is that it's O.K. to stutter. You can be a great communicator and still stutter. It's not how you say things, but what you say that is important.
*What is your other interests, except stuttering?
Geez, where to start. LOL. I have a lot of other interests. I have two grandchildren that keep me young. I'm an avid golfer, and play 2-3 times a week during the summer. I'm also a long time hockey fan, and have followed the Detroit Red Wings since I was a kid. I also enjoy reading. And I try to speak to college SLP grad students at least once during the school year.
*Do you think it's important for the one who stutter to realise that he or she can
do just about everything that the non-stutterer can do, and can live a just as perfect life
as the one who doesn't stutter?

- I sometimes disagtee with some of my NSA friends about what people who stutter can do or not do. For example, not all people who stutter would make good air traffic controllers or good Army generals dealing with speaking situations on the battlefield. . But, we all should find something we are good at, and do that job to the best of our ability. I always wanted to be a stand up comic, but I don't think my stuttering would enable me to do that. It's hard to get the punchlines out. LOL
*Why did you get so involved in stuttering organisations and such?
- I didn't really "plan" to get so heavily involved in the National Stuttering Association. I went to my first NSA chapter meeting in 1994, and there were only two people there. I didn't think that was really for me. But, I kept on going back each month. I was asked to be one of the our chapter coleaders, here in Michigan, and our chapter really grew from there. After attending my first NSA convention in 1995 ( then known as the National Stuttering Project), I knew that I wanted to stay involved and help other people who stuttered. I was a cochapter leader for 10 years until I got a little "burned out" and passed the coleader position to somebody new. I was asked to become a Regional Chapter Coordinator for the NSA a couple of years ago, and I thought it would be a great way to stay involved and help some of the other NSA chapters to get established. I've attended fourteen NSA conventions since 1995 and I still find them to be the thing that helps me to keep my confidence level up as far as my stuttering is concerned.
*Can you tell me a bit about when you grow up, and also how the stuttering affected you?
-I'm not sure we have enough time or space to really talk about this question. . Like most people who stutter, I encountered situations that were not always the most comfortable. Junior high and high school were not really that awful for me. I had a lot of friends that I grew up with and knew about my stuttering. I guess the hardest part of high school was dealing with girls. . They were not exactly eager to go out with the kid who stuttered. In college, I was able to take classes that did not require a lot of talking, believe it or not. Most of my classes were in huge lecture halls, and I could kind of "hide" and not have to give myself away as a person who stuttered.

- My stuttering doesn't really affect me too much now. I'm too old to let it bother me too much anymore. LOL. I have a great job, a wonderful family, and a LOT of friends in the National Stuttering Association. I've traveled a lot, and done some good things in my life. Stuttering is still a part of me, and always will be. But, it no longer controls my life, I don't let it.