Hello readers! Glad you’ve found us!
My name is Juuso. I am 23-year-old student from Northern Finland. I started my bachelors studies this autumn. My major is finnish language and minor lecture. I’m proud to tell you, my goal is to become a finnish language and lecture teacher. I want to give everyone of you a message that stuttering shouldn’t stop you from following your dreams!
I’ve been stuttering for all my life, since it started when I was 3 years old. I couldn’t really imagine my life without stuttering. It’s almost as absurd as thinking to live without hearing or taste sense. Sure, I’ve had times that I really hated my stuttering. When I was in junior high school (from 13 to 16 years old) I hated when I couldn’t speak fast and fluently. I was mad towards my mom, because I felt like I had most blocks when talking to her.
I’ve been lucky in my life. I’ve never been bullied because of my stutter. My parents have been absolutely amazing, they’ve done so many things right. For example, when I was a kid, my parents never ordered food for me in restaurants. They asked me what I would like which gave me the space to start speaking calmly. They showed me that public speaking doesn’t need to be scary. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I love giving lectures and speaking in public. I and my mom have even gave couple of lectures about our live with my stutter. In the summer of 2018 we spoke at a camp for stuttering kids and their families. And after that we spoke to speech therapists in hospital! And oh yeah, my mom is a speech therapist, but her most important role has been ‘mother’.
Try meditation, learn about yourself, do research about stuttering, meet fellow pws, attend camps for pws, take a step or two out of your comfort zone, learn to be more self-caring. And most importantly, spread the word about your stutter. Be proud and love yourself!
