Articles

Photo: Jerry and Eli at Jerry's horse farm

My name is Irvin. I am a 79 year old farmer from Central Saskatchewan. I want to tell the story of my stuttering journey. I don't remember when it started but I remember stuttering since public school. I stuttered and had blocks, but I will mostly refer to them both only as stutters.

In the months of October to December in 2025, I participated in the SingWell Project. This project is a weekly singing group for people who stutter. I was happy to know my previous singing experience in the shower was acceptable.

Author Tove Selvåg-Drott was kind enough to snail-mail me a copy of her book Hello? Still there? for review and it was indeed a pleasure to read.

As Catherine Moroney’s mother, I was the object of repeated requests to attend the conference this year (2025) and I finally agreed.

The 2025 CSA Conference in Kingston, Ontario was my second. This annual event is certainly a time for people who stutter, their families and friends to get together, reconnect and celebrate. It was also an opportunity to meet new people who attended the conference for the first time.

I have always stuttered as far as I could remember my earliest memory of speaking. I could barely get past two phrases without being impeded by a speech block. I couldn’t fathom why my speech never came out smooth like everybody else’s.