Words Unsaid

From MemoryArchive

Who: Erica Schmidt
What: Speech Impediment
When: 1996-1997
Where: Kentucky

Have you ever felt like you were trapped inside your own mind; not being able to tell others how you fell or think? That's exactly how i felt for the first six years of my life. When you have a speech impediment it's impossible not to feel that way.

I was always a shy child. I guess that's why it took so long for anyone to realize that i had a problem. I was about five when people actually realized that i had trouble speaking. My teachers first recognized it for what it really was, a speech impediment. They quickly told my parents and i had to go through tests. Yeah, there were lots of tests.

I had never really thought that there was anything wrong with me. In my six year old mind i thought all human being had that struggling feeling i felt everyday. But going through thoughs tests and going through phyciatrist made me realize that i was not normal. That fact probably tore me up more than the actual impediment did. My parents started to look at me differently. They seemed to spend every minute worring about me.

After all of the tests they finally decided that i would spend one day out of every week going to speech therapy. It was very awkward at first, but i soon began to enjoy it. Going to therapy made me feel normal like i had a huge weight lifted off of me. After about four weeks i no longer stuttered, stopped in the middle of words, or even not talk for fear of what i was going to say.

Now, at the age of fourteen, i'm still told that i talk funny. In reality i know i really do. As an aftermath of my therapy i tend to elongate my words. I try to make it into a joke, because if you joke about it you start to feel a little bit more human.