Stuttering is like Driving

 ‘Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.’ – Babs Hoffman

I have recently started learning how to drive. 

And what does stuttering have to do with driving?

Well let me tell you…

Stalling the Car

As I've been learning to drive, I've noticed that every time I get in the car, the road becomes a little easier to manage.  I've also learned not to get carried away with the stress of stalling the car, which happens when the engine suddenly stops working and the car can't move. Stalling the car used to be terrifying for me, especially when there was a line of cars behind you waiting for you to move.

For me, stalling the car is similar to some stuttering situations.

Consider this: you're driving down a busy street, you're doing everything correctly, and every movement you make is fluid. Then you come to a red traffic light, which means you must come to a complete stop and reset your vehicle while you wait to move again. The traffic light turns green, and you're ready to go, but you can't seem to coordinate the clutch and the accelerator, and you stall the car. When this happens, you must perform a full reset of your vehicle, which takes a few seconds. Suddenly, a car behind you beeps at you and you panic and stall the car again. Finally, you allow yourself the time you need and you're able to move off again. You are back at it.

Similarly, when you're in line for a coffee and you are mentally running through your order. You are relaxed as you wait your turn. You find yourself at the counter, placing your order. You get stuck on a word, and even though no one behind you is beeping like they would on the road, you can almost feel their impatience and confusion about why you're taking so long to say your order. You start to stutter more as you become more anxious. Finally, after what feels like a lifetime, you state your order and the interaction continues.

Ending on a positive note

Yes, even though stalling the car and stuttering on a word only takes a few seconds, I often find myself becoming anxious under the time pressure of doing things quickly. 

However, in relation to driving, I must remind myself that I am still a learner driver and lack the experience of someone who has been driving for a longer period of time than me. I also need to remember that even though I may stall the car from time to time I will eventually reset and move off again. 

Similarly, as a person who stutters, I also need to remind myself that even though I do not speak as fluently as some people and it does take me longer to say my coffee order, eventually I will get my words out and be able to enjoy my coffee.