[Adam]

I work with someone who has a pronounced stutter. I do not perceive this in any way as a lack of intelligence, nor do I think it is funny. In this case I also do not pity the person because they seem to be at ease with their stuttering. I would only feel pity if they seemed to have a diminished quality of life or a poor perception of themselves because of it. When we are working, the speech impediment tends to lose importance in favor of the work we are doing to the point where I no longer notice it.

User Detail :  

Name : Adam, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 24, City : Albany, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Angee23948]

My younger brother used to stutter a great deal, and of course as kids we picked on him, but we also picked on everyone else. His stutter wasn't all that big of a deal. I honestly thought my brother had developmental problems for the longest time because he stuttered, but I was wrong. His intelligence level is very high, and because of him I view all stutterers as regulars folks - as I should have from the start.

User Detail :  

Name : Angee23948, Gender : F, City : Clarksville, State : TN Country : United States, 

[D-Meerkat31794]

I work with someone who stutters. It is not a very bad problem (i.e. he does not do it on every word or sentence and can often carry on a conversation like everyone else, but gets tripped up and starts to stutter every so often). My reaction to it is to ignore it and don't even acknowledge it, which is what I feel is best, since I have a disablity as well and do not want it to be acknowledged or to affect the normal course of work or interaction with people. However, I do see it as a bit annoying at times, even though I know he cannot help it. Often in my head I will be saying "just say the words, already, I am tired of waiting," but I never actually say that and always patiently wait.

User Detail :  

Name : D-Meerkat31794, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jeff]

How do non-stutterers see stutterers? Do you pity them? Do you see them as regular people you could get to know? Do you regard them as less-intelligent? Is stuttering funny?

User Detail :  

Name : Jeff, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Stutterer, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 38, City : Andover, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Biologist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Meg]

Stuttering is just like anything else to me. My best friend has a speech impairment {she can't say her 'r's} and normally I don't even realize she has one. My mother stutters, and because she does, I don't treat her any differently. All you need is patience.

User Detail :  

Name : Meg, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Suffer from depression, anxiety disorder, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 15, City : Modesto, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : High school student, Social class : Middle class, 

[Joseph29109]

I work in a technical support department for a software company and have spoken to several bad stutterers. I have confirmed this general view with the other techs in the department:

1. Immediately we want to laugh. It's like we are stuck in the punch-line of a joke.
2. This feeling is quickly replaced with a sense of empathy because we know that the person we are speaking to is not stupid. We cannot imagine how frustrating it is to know what you want to say but fail to effectively communicate it.
3. After 5 minutes or so, however, empathy is replaced by frustration by having to wait 3-5 times longer to do simple things because we are waiting for the stutterer to finish his sentence.

We all agree it is a sad condition, and will try to ask only yes or no questions to speed things up. We do ask that the stutterer keep from 'making small talk' in the interest of time. It may seem rude in the end, but it is basically a time/impatience issue.

User Detail :  

Name : Joseph29109, Gender : M, City : Baton Rouge, State : LA Country : United States, 

[Jessica]

I worked briefly with a man who had what seemed to me more of a nervous affliction than a stuttering problem - whenever he'd try to speak, it'd come out stuttered, but his whole face would freeze and he'd blink and purse his lips as he tried to formulate sentences. At first, I had to bit my lip to keep from laughing. That was my first, instinctual reaction. Then I mentally kicked myself in the behind for it. After a while, I got use to it and eventually didn't even see it at all. Instead, I just saw the man for who he was: an exceptionally smart engineer, and a really nice and fun guy.

User Detail :  

Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White and Arab, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : student, lifeguard, swim instructor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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