Ha-ha-ha-ha-HI!

"I'm stuttering, Oh oh oh oh oh."- Stuttering, Mario

Stuttering, or alalia literalis or anarthria literalis is a disorder in which the person affected has a speech difficulty, usually repetition of the beginning of words (to-to-to-to-toilet!), some make their words longer (mmmmmmmmoney!), or others, have blocked speech.

This is a disorder that has plagued me all these years. i-i-I had this di-di-di-disorder since I was a child, and having thi-thi-thi-this disorder has put me into a la-la-la-lot of trouble and discomfort. Yes, a lot.

I remember having to walk home from a very distant place because I had blocked speech at the jeepney. The moment I had to say "Para po!" ("Pull over!"), my mouth stood still, my tongue frozen, and no sound came out of my mouth. I gave up. I would just get out of the jeepney once another passenger tells the "magic word". The next one did at a very distant place from ours. Since I am afraid I would stutter again, I just decided to walk home. This is not a single occurrence. There are several events where this has happened.

There are times where I'm offered to read mass readings, prayers of the Faithful, and other "public speaking" thingies, but I declined almost all of them because I'm afraid I would just stand there and say nothing. There are times when I accepted public speaking, but I usually end stuttering the first few words of the piece. Shame.

This disorder of mine isn't constant, but when it attacks, it's very disabling. There are times where I speak clearly, but all of a sudden, I stutter. Maybe that's just how it is. There are several modern treatment regimen available in the market, but I do not have the finances to afford them. There are treatments, but there is no cure.

In ancient times, they believed that when you put some pebbles or marbles below the stutterer's tongue, he would speak very well. But it's not proven effective.

If you know someone who stutters, please don't make fun of them. I know the struggles and the effort they exert for them to speak very well, and it's unimaginable.

Want to see how a stutterer struggles with his disorder? Watch "The King's Speech". It's a very good thing to watch. Th-th-th-th-thank you!