Mary Wood, Toronto 1995
When I think back on my 23 years involved with the the Canadian Stuttering Association, the words that come to mind are Support, Laughter, Love, and a large amount of acceptance for whoever I was and whatever I was experiencing. Accepting myself as a person who stutters sure has taken me down a lot of roads that I had no idea were even there.
Richard with his two daughters
Let's face it, a lot of life boils down to numbers. For each of us those numbers are unique. For me those numbers are 2, 300, 27, 60, 12 & 1. I'll touch on each of these numbers and the significance they hold for me. Being a person that stutters, I can say one of my most significant motivators has been when I've been told "you won't". You won't amount to much, you won't overcome your stutter you won't live a productive life.
Richard, left, with friends at NSA2015
A few months ago, I came the closest I've ever come to having my childhood dream of a stutter-free life come true. Ironically, it was at a place where there is more stuttering per square foot that you could find anywhere else in the world. This was the first year I have attended the National Stuttering Association’s Annual Conference, and I hope that by sharing the surprising lessons I learned it might encourage other Canadians to make the trip to the conference in Atlanta next year.
Oliver Long, at a Demosthenes Club gathering
We continue our series of Q and A posts featuring CSA conference attendees. On this post, we meet Oliver Long, who has lived all over the world while facing discrimination due to having a severe stutter.
Sally Petersen, right,
with friend Annie Bradbury
In anticipation of our upcoming conference on October 24, we continue with Daniele Rossi's interviews with people who have attended conferences in the past. He travels south of the border once again and chats with Sally Peterson who has attended many conferences over the years, including in Canada.
Alexandra D'Agostino In this fourth installment of our Q and A series with past attendees of our conferences – in anticipation of our upcoming 2015 conference (details here) – our subject is Alexandra D'Agostino. Alexandra is a board member for the CSA and involved in the NSA in the States as well.
1. Tell us about yourself.
Hi everyone, my name is Alexandra D’Agostino and I am 22 years old. I am a student at Wilfrid Laurier University, double majoring in Psychology and Anthropology!