Top 5 Reasons Why I Advertise

"Hi my name is Cameron, and I am a person who stutters"

Advertising is as simple as letting someone know that I am a person who stutters. It is a great opportunity to educate and spread awareness, while also offering other personal benefits. Here are the top 5 reasons why I advertise:


 5. Leave no room for interpretation.

     When I am speaking with someone, no matter who, I prefer for them to know why it is that I may be dysfluent. Too many times I've been asked if I "forgot my name", told to "relax" or stared at in wonder. I refuse to allow my listeners to make there own conclusions based on what could be very narrow knowledge of stuttering. By advertising that I am a "person who stutters" it allows both myself and my listener to focus on the content of our conversation.

4. Reduce the pressure of expectation.

Day 7: Advertising at Work

     Based on numbers alone, people expect people to be fluent. If somehow they can predict I am one of the 1% of people who stutter, I will be immediately inviting/dragging them to the casino. By advertising, I don't feel the need to hide the fact that I stutter for the rest of our interaction or relationship. In turn, I've found that not only can I more effectively use the tools I've practiced in speech therapy (voluntary stuttering, bouncing, easy onset,etc.), but operating without the pressure and stress of expectation, my fluency almost always increases.

3. I am a person who stutters.                            

     I have been fortunate to become meet and become friends with a large number of people who stutter. I have met doctor's, lawyer's, actor's, speech-language pathologists and athletes who stutter, people who have achieved great things. There's so much more to all of us who stutter, more to everyone regardless of what challenges they bear.
     I graduated from Michigan State, I have a job, I have a great family and great friends, I love the gym, I've run a marathon, I'm loyal, I like to cook, play golf and I stutter. I trust that those who matter will appreciate me for the person I am, regardless of that last little detail. You should too.

2. Stuttering is OK.

    There is no law which states that stuttering is not okay, or that a challenging day with fluency is punishable. It is okay if I take a little longer to order or if I stutter throughout introducing myself. We all have our challenges, it just so happens that people are able to see and hear mine. I've worked hard to be able to control my speech, but if I stutter (which I do a lot) and I'm doing my best, I'm not going to apologize. Instead, I'll smile, advertise and reaffirm to myself that stuttering is okay.

1. It is my voice, and it is beautiful.

     We are all different, we all talk different, look different and believe in different things. It is was makes us human. Our differences should be celebrated, not hidden. I was given my voice for a reason, and no one can take that away from me. I advertise because I am a person who stutters, it is my voice and it is beautiful.

     So is yours.