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The Stammerer's Etiquette Dilemma?

Asked by robmandu (21331points) December 16th, 2008

I’ve an acquaintance who stutters. I don’t really know him well enough to ask these kinds of questions.

When he gets hung up on a word, what should I do?

A) Finish the word for him.
B) Let him work his way through it alone.

Personally, I tend towards (B) for now thinking that therapy involves the stammerer taking care to enunciate words in a certain way… and I don’t want to interfere with that.

On the other hand, if another buddy of mine, who does not have a speech impediment, were to get hung up on a word, I’d probably suggest it automatically.

In other words, I’m treating the stammerer differently than someone else… and often times people with physical challenges make the case that they don’t want to be treated any differently at all.

This isn’t a big deal… but in the throes of a long conversation with the stammerer, it’s all I can think about.

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