Chris Meintjes and Michael Lyons from Paarl, South Africa share a condition called stuttering which they have tackled as a team. They have been helped in their efforts by the McGuire Programme which is offered worldwide. It was brought to South Africa in 2005 by Chris who had encountered it in Europe where it was first established. Since then the programme has helped over 250 people in South Africa and across the rest of the African continent.
Going through life with a speech impediment was tough; l let it hold me back, numerous times… Until I said, “Screw this.”
So, I’ll say it. I have a stutter. It gets worse when I am nervous, or anxious. It gets better when I am relaxed, and comfortable with the people around me. That’s pretty much all there is to it. Well, not quite. Schooling was tough for me. I always struggled to get good grades and had to work my butt off just to get by. I did it though (virtual high five).
Cape Town course, November 2015
En toe lees ek……
Alta Cloete, bekende skrywer van die Paarl in Suid Afrika, se seun Schalk het gehakkel vandat hy leer praat het. 'n Artikel in 'n bekende gesinstydskrif het Schalk gehelp om die probleem te bowe te kom en vandag is hy 'n suksesvolle chemiese ingenieur in Noorweë.
I have been stuttering for most of my speaking life. It only became a real problem in high school as I was very self-conscious about my speech. I was an overt stutterer trying very hard to hide my “broken” speech, because I hated that side of myself. My thoughts were… “Who will ever like someone who speaks like that?”
I have been a stutterer since I started speaking. I remember certain grown-ups who always made big eyes at me and told me to speak properly. I was in grade 1 when the nurses visited the schools and one nurse asked me what my name was and I could not say it. After a while her patience had worn out and she shouted to the whole class if someone could help me say my name because I didn’t know what it was. My friends never teased or bullied me. Children were never the mean one’s… the adults were!
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