More Stuff
Pamela Mertz 2021
I am a December baby – so I am a Sagittarius.
I serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Stuttering Association!
I was a previous Board Member of the International Stuttering Association.
I am a Toastmaster and recently earned my DTM – Distinguished Toastmaster
I was a previous Board Member for the ARC of Rensselaer County
Podcast – Women Who Stutter: Our Stories. Join the Face book group!
6 Responses to "More Stuff"
March 12, 2015 at 1:03 PM
Hi Pam!
My name is Autumn Seigel and I am about to be 21 yrs old. I am also a person who stutters. I am also an author and work in retail. A friend of mine told me to check out your blog. All my life I’ve had this stutter combined with my learning disability. Last summer changed my life. I went to a college for two weeks that was having a stuttering camp. After those two weeks, I was 90% stutter free. I have my good days and bad days with my stutters. Some days I get so bad to where I can’t answer the phone at my work. But, I am more confident in my speech to where I tell others that I stutter and will not be ashamed of it. This blog inspired me and my friend said that you might be able to interview me. You can contact me at: authorautumnseigel@gmail.com
October 25, 2017 at 3:12 AM
I am a thirty three year old dude, who has been stuttering as far back as my memory goes. One thing I think we can all agree on, is that stuttering is a special kind of suffering, indeed. It makes BACK THEN so overwhelmingly embarrassing, i often get goose bumps justing thinking about a verbal interaction as 7-11 that went horribly awry. And it makes UP NEXT even more horrifying. But here is one of those sneaky good things. Stuttering trained me to think in the NOW. Sure, when a woman, who I am in love with, in of course the most awkward way possible, ask if she’d like to go to dinner with me, and she declines. That stings. No two ways about it. But it’s not like awkward social situations can kill you. I’ve had so many they hardly register anymore. While stuttering drives me crazy every day. I usually am sort of happy about it at some point. I could never talk. But I had a preternatural skill for writing at age six. I fell in love the firs time I got my hands a type writer in a lawyer’s office. I was helping my mom clean. She went to prison when I was five. She stuttered as well. But never as bad as me. When she needed to get it in control, she could. When I needed to get it in control, that was win the words had no chance. And after a long while, someone would take pity, fetch me a pad and pen pencil, and please write it down. But no one is free from their own kind of suffering. Stuttering make it harder to see that sometimes. But it’s true. In my experience, the best thing to do is carry that suffering as gracefully as possible. And if you focus on helping other people ease their suffering, instead of being consumed stuttering. Life gets a lot easier.
Thanks.
November 8, 2017 at 12:09 PM
Hi – sorry for the late reply. What a wonderfully thoughtful narrative. I totally agree that stuttering is it’s own special kind of awkward. It’s so frustrating to be able to say something fluently one minute and then be unable to the next. And you’re right – carry stuttering with grace is the best thing for us. As hard as that may be, it’s better than being miserable.
Thanks so much for sharing. – Pam
Make Room For The Stuttering 
June 4, 2014 at 2:31 PM
Hello, my name is Natalia Kissamitaki. I represent the Greek Initiative Of Persons who Stutter, a club founded 2 years ago by 5 adults who stutter since childhood. We are trying to make our first steps in informing Greek people about stuttering. Unfortunately, Greece is way back in this issue. I found your blog really inspiring, and you gave me many ideas. So, I want to thank you! Keep on this great job!
June 4, 2014 at 8:14 PM
Hello Natalia – welcome to this blog and thank you for introducing yourself and taking the time to leave a comment. I am very interested in learning more about your stuttering community. How inspiring that you have an initiative going to bring people who stutter together. I hope you visit this blog often.
Please consider listening to some of the podcast episodes that are associated with this blog, stories of people from all over the world who stutter and what it’s like in their countries.
I’d like to get in touch with you.
Best regards, Pam