“I wanted a Samsung galaxy s10 PLUS 512 GB, not this s10! And I asked for clothes and boots from Nike, but you guys don’t even love me, neither do you care about me or my feelings. I wish I was blessed with caring enough parents.” Now, some of you might agree that this kid is a spoilt brat and nothing more, while others might advocate for the kid. However, the basic idea here is not to ostracize the kid or the parents but to direct the attention towards our never ending bucket list of material objects.
Now for a while, if you just ponder upon the aforementioned lines of the kid, you might acknowledge that maybe the kid didn’t get exactly what he wanted, but, he still has enough to be thankful enough. And this “enough”, as most of us would think, would be in terms of, maybe the phone with less specifications, or the clothes which are not branded but still are clothes enough to be worn and last but not the least, the parents.
But, did you notice that while complaining, the kid did not feel any kind of impediment in speaking; he spoke as fluently as any one of you, like a stroll in the park. But ask someone who has so much going on through his/her mind but unfortunately the journey from mind to tongue where it actually matters to the world gets quite prolonged, and you will know the gravity of the situation.
Yes, speaking fluently without any sort of tension, frustration or anxiety is a blessing, S…SS…SSS….said the one who only wished to speak out his/her, mind knowing that his/her voice shakes.
Medically speaking, this condition is called Stuttering, also known as stammering, a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the person who stutters is unable to produce sounds. No single, exclusive cause of developmental stuttering is known. A variety of hypotheses and theories suggests multiple factors contributing to stuttering.
This is a story of a boy, a boy who had discovered that he was not disabled as the world called, rather differently able as he sees himself.
Completely unaware of this disorder, began his journey. His family, relatives or close friends did not pay much heed to it in the beginning until it had developed serious enough to be noticed. “You are doing it deliberately”, did they say, and added to the confusion of the boy. “Why would someone do it deliberately?” He asked himself every single time.
It was not long before the boy was unable to keep the impediment behind the curtains and this “weakness” was exposed to the world to exploit. Unsurprisingly, the people made sure that they had all their fun at the expense of self-esteem and self-confidence of the boy which was fracturing day by day. The situation had exacerbated so much that the boy was even apprehensive of attending the phone calls, let alone talking in public. This condition took a heavy toll on his personal and professional life, but this was just the beginning of an entirely new journey.
One random day, he came across another boy who was suffering from the same disorder but in a far worse condition. To his surprise, he talked to the distressed boy, understood his issue and explained him the little tactics, all without a hinge of stutter. He explained to him that stammering is not a virus or any other disease which could be cured with a pill or a magic wand. It is a lifelong battle; A battle against yourself.
You have to devise techniques every other day to overcome new situations and circumstances that prove to be a triggering factor for this condition. Moreover, never lie to yourself! You know that you have this condition; you didn’t ask for it, but now you own it, and it’s no one else but you who is going to overcome it.
That was the day, when the boy had discovered that he can make a difference. He had decided that he no longer had to hide or run away from it. Accepting was the first step in the right direction and against all odds he decided to pursue that one thing which he feared the most, “speaking in public.” It isn’t a movie, where everything is planned and directed. He had to face a lot of hurdles during this struggle. You can’t expect a lion not to eat you, if you can’t eat the lion. Such was the case with the people, who left no stone unturned in mocking and ridiculing the striving boy.
Howbeit, that was the time when the boy’s biggest frailty became his biggest fortitude. He was very rightly facing the predicament which was at the helm of his situation. Moreover, owing to this disorder which he once considered as a curse, established to be an unparalleled blessing for the boy, for he had discovered his true potential, he was no longer afraid of his daunting fear which had haunted him for long enough and today the boy stands stronger than ever.
Life is unpredictable and full of surprises at every possible step. Things might or might not be in your favor and that is when you ought to prove your mettle. Situations and circumstances change everything they say, but I believe it’s the vision and perspective that is more important.
The world might call you disable and call such disorders as a disability but it’s you who can decide whether you are disable or differently able. The disorder is a lifelong battle, but it leaves one with two options: Either to portray yourself as a victim or develop enough courage, embrace it and have the valor of calling yourself a survivor!
The Writer is an Award-winning Educationist in Pakistan