Stuttering? I am getting a bit down by it...

[madareebrahim]

Good evening all.

So I'm actually a nursing student. I didnt want to put this in the student threads because I need some support, advice from actual nurses not fellow students!

So Ive stuttered since I was a baby, I remember going to speech therapy as a wee child...Ive had the problem my entire lfe. Its now at the stage where majority of the time I can speak fluently I only really stutter in "stressful" situations like phone calls or when being grilled about something or when I must speak to someone who kind of stresses me out. And ofcourse nursing school is FULL of that! I feel like I am starting to get a bit down feeling about it. Most instructors are very easy going by it as are my classmates as far as I can tell, but there are a few instructors who are very intensive and who get me nervous and so I stutter with them and when I stutter Ive developed over the years a way of sort of getting around it, where I dumb down what I say, using simple sentences just to get what I want to say out, even though inside my brain I'm exploding with words and want to say the RIGHT thing that I am thinking...yet...I cant.

The pressure is on more this semester with clinicals and I just feel like its getting me down...I am unsure what tips or tricks or words of wisdom you all may have. I am smart and I do know what I should know by this point in my program...but its frustrating and in turn, I also have a bit of a self esteem issue where at times I have trouble trusting my judgement and just in general being assertive. It stems from my dealing with this problem my entire life and dealing with rude people and just in general feeling that maybe I must be stupid or not smart or can not do anything with my life...yes ive been told since I was a child I couldnt do anything with my life...id be nothing...because of the stutter and for the first time in my life I actually feel like i'm doing what I am MEANT to do! Nursing...

argh...I'm soo frustrated., here I am a grown adult, with a family and I have this problem!!! Please any advice. yes I do want to do stuttering therapy but it needs to wait until I finish my program in another year as I am too time crunched.

[CarryThatWeight, BSN]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. You instructor should know that stuttering is not caused by anxiety, though anxiety does often make it worse. It sounds like she is bullying you, which is unfortunately common in nursing school. You may need to go to the dean of nursing. I'm sure they will not want people to know that their faculty bullies students with disabilities. Enough is enough.

[Jackfackmasta, ASN, RN]

I am hard of hearing and am waiting to sit for my NCLEX. During 3rd semester I did a rotation on a PCU and my primary nurse was the charge nurse and she stuttered. I worked along side her and she would stutter several times but would not stop and apologize, she just kept on going like it was nothing and the family/patient just went along with it.

She worked in a trauma ICU before working there. Being hard of hearing people ask where I am from and I tell them I am hard of hearing and they are shocked and I just move on. I've learned that ultimately people may look at you in disbelief at first but ultimately it is your work ethic and your care that people ultimately judge you on.

Every unit I did rotations on the nurses were kind of shocked by having a hard of hearing student but they quickly got over that and saw me for my skills and knowledge that I brought. I rotated through ICU and worked on codes while other students stood back scared. I work as an ED tech and will be starting a level 1 trauma ICU position in a few weeks.

I will encounter the same problems of shock by people who have never seen a deaf nurse but I know ultimatly its your skills and compassion and the way you care for your patients that you are judge on. Don't focus on your stuttering. If they ask tell them yes I stutter and move on. Most people don't ask about my hearing unless they know someone or have a deaf child. Alot of my patients find comfort somewhat in knowing that.

You can't change that you stutter or that some people will have issues with it but you can great nurse. :hug:

[gcoalson]

I am not a nurse, but I picked up this newsfeed feed on Google alert and joined just to respond. I am a speech-therapist and a person who stutters. I also do research in the cause and effective treatment of stuttering. What your supervisor is suggesting is unrealistic and, if that doens't get their attention, illegal under ADA. This unfortunately happens all the time. The previous poster is correct - stuttering is not caused by anxiety, but anxiety worsens stuttering. There's a lot a research to support that. If anxiety caused stuttering, stuttering would track more cleanly with populations diagnosed with clinical anxiety disorders.

It sounds like you are close to being done, so you may have to make some decisions as to how much you want to rock the boat. Just know they cannot fail you legally because of a disability. If you'd like to speak further about this that would be fine - I can send my email if you'd like.

[gcoalson]

Also, if you need some reliable online resources that are not trying to sell you a "fluency device" or push any specific kind of treatment on you, I would start with the Stuttering Foundation of America. Stuttering Foundation of America The have a handout called "Answers for Employers" here Answers for Employers and a referral list of specialists in the area (I would recommend seeing a fluency specialist if you do choose to go to speech therapy). There's a wealth of information available on this site, including current research.

Also, the National Stuttering Association (NSA) is a community of people who stuter and provides a lot of good resources National Stuttering Association (NSA): Stuttering Help .

Hope this helps. Keep fighting the good fight.