Finding my voice

My name is AA and I'm just an 8th Grader that loves Art and Stutters most of the time. When I stutter, I feel that I don’t have control of my body movements. When I speak to people, my blocks and repetitions get in the way of communicating with others. Sometimes I have to repeat myself because people don’t understand me. This makes me feel mad, embarrassed, tired, and frustrated. So I avoid situations in which I have to talk by not participating in class, telling others I don’t want to talk, and making excuses to leave class.

I will be starting high school in September, and I am worried that I will have a hard time meeting new people because of my stuttering. I want to be able to talk to new people without feeling this way, and I also don’t want people to treat me differently.  This is why I am reaching out to all of you because I have been accepted to a Fluency intensive program over the summer.  I hope to learn skills from this program so that my stuttering does not hold me back from meeting new people at this new school and other settings.

I have been accepted to the New England Fluency Program at Emerson College, administered by fluency specialist Adriana DiGrande, M.S., CCC-SLP, BCS-F. This program costs $4300, and my mother cannot pay for this program on her own. This is why I am reaching out to all of you with the hope that you all can help me achieve my goal.