MTV produced "True Life" story on stuttering

MTV did a video on depicting the true life struggles of people who stutter in a video called, "True Life." I think it is a very fascinating story because it highlights some of the obstacles that people who stutter has to face and try to overcome as they adjust to a life with living with stuttering!

The story involved three young adults: Caryn age 20, Jessica age 20 and Tim age 23. Caryn is what we called a "covert stutterer" ( a stutterer who conceals his or her stuttering from people around); covert stutterers can use techniques such as word substitution (often called circumlocutions using a stuttering vernacular) and avoidance to camouflage his or her stuttering. However, covert stuttering has its limit and sooner or later the "800 pound guerrilla," will show its ugly head. Stuttering, especially for covert stutterers can be an "800 pound guerrilla," because sooner or later one has to introduce himself or herself in the setting of school, work or on the phone etc. Caryn, through therapy realized that being true to yourself in letting others be aware of your stuttering is the best thing to do; consequently, we see her display "courage under fire," on the subway train when she gets up and says, I am Caryn and I stutter. Caryn also admitted to her friends that she is afflicted with the stuttering disorder. There is an old saying that, "the truth hurts but it will set you free."

Tim on the other hand has a severe stuttering and this level of stuttering interferes with his ability to get a job. He is on the verge of getting kicked out of his apartment, has virtually no food in his apartment and is on the phone trying to see if anyone is hiring; there is only one problem--he stutters so badly that people on the other end of the phone usually hangs up on him! He gets frustrated and finally called one of his friends to make phone calls for him to inquire about jobs! Tim finally went to inquire about a bar tending job; although he stutterers severely the supervisor (manager) decided that people need a chance to prove themselves regardless of their disability and decides to give Tim a chance because of his determination and highly motivation to succeed! Tim said, "I am going to work really hard to show them that they made the right choice." Tim proved that if at first you don't succeed then try, try and try again.

Jessica is competing in a beauty pageant and she has some insecurities in her ability to represent herself among the contestants secondary to her speech impediment! However, she is determined to succeed despite her stuttering defect and with the help of support from family, friends and the National Stuttering Association she overcame her phobia of stuttering and decide to talk about stuttering as her platform issue in the pageant contest. Although he did not win, he learned a valuable lesson: embraced your fears and be yourself, even though others may vote against you. Remember its all about fighting the good fight, running the race and keeping your faith.

Here is the linked to the video watch it and give me your thoughts:
www.mtv.com/true-life-i-stutter-stutters-try-to-cope-with-their-speech-issues