Posts Tagged ‘career aspirations for people who stutter’
Challenge? Yes Please – Episode 235
Posted on: May 3, 2021
Episode 235 features Lesley Brownlow, who hails from Liverpool, England, UK. Lesley works in a council-run Adult Education service, which she describes as very busy, stressful and productive. She says in a way, her career “chose her.” She wanted to take on a communication heavy job to help “bust the stigma” of stuttering.
Lesley says she always wanted to be a writer, and that she knew this that at the tender age of 5, when she began writing stories. Going forward, she realized you had to make money in order to actually make a career out of writing.
Lesley’s mantra is never saying no to a challenge. Early in her adult education career, she did worry that stuttering could be perceived by learners that she didn’t know what she was talking about. She quickly let that go.
Listen in as we discuss authenticity, disclosure, the “fluent voice in our head,” and how stuttering can create an intimacy in communication that helps spark real relationships. We also discussed the benefits of meeting others who stutter and how liberating that can be.
This was a wonderful, inspiring conversation that could have go on for hours, but we were mindful of listener attention spans these days!
Thank you Lesley.
By Accident – Episode 59
Posted on: June 20, 2011
Episode 59 features Maria, 28, who was born and raised in Eastern Europe. Maria presently lives in Liverpool, England, and is studying Human Resources Management.
Maria landed in the UK quite by accident! Listen in as she explains how a half-year commitment to a new job resulted in many changes.
Maria didn’t start stuttering until 12 years old. She shares that she didn’t get much support and no therapy. In fact, her family acted as if Maria’s stuttering didn’t exist, and Maria herself describes pretending she didn’t stutter.
She found therapy as an adult quite by accident as well! While browsing in a library one day, Maria picked up a book on self-development. One of the suggestions was to join Toastmasters. She did, and tells the story of how the President of that club quite assertively pulled her aside at her very first meeting and told her she must try a speech therapy program that he had attended, the McGuire Programme.
Maria attended a McGuire course one year ago, and tells us how both her speech and life have dramatically changed. She describes the feeling of “being let out of prison.” Maria has now done things she never thought possible, including many job interviews, taking a job as a receptionist and even tracking down relatives, which she would never do because of her fear of using the telephone.
Listen in to Maria’s accidental transformation from a shy, fearful hairdresser to the now confident, ambitious woman studying to become an HR Manager and living in a new country.
Credit for the podcast safe music used in this episode goes to ccMixter. Feel free to leave comments for Maria or Pam. Remember, feedback is a gift.
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