Evening star., 1937-11-08
Help the Sufferer by
sympathetic Treatment
To the Editor Of The Star:

TO the Editor Of The Star:
Congratulations for your active cam
paign In behalf Of those Of us who happen
to be deaf. In spreading the word of
human understanding and tolerance and
consideration you have started move
ment that will help to make life an easier
and more pleasant place for the deaf
person.
Another duty to be assumed by your
splendid paper is that of awakening the
citizens of Washington to their obliga-
tions concerning the stutterer. This city
OF Washington is doing practically moth
ing to assist the stutterer back to normal
speech. No free clinics exist to combat
the mental terrors that confront the
sufferer No public-spirited citizens of
washington have pooled their resources
to endow an institution for this purpose.
Suffering speech is durable. Stutter-
ers are normal people; in fact, oftimes
above normal with regard to intelligence,
mental depth and spiritual perception.
Suffering, in the majority of cases, is
merely result of incorrect habits of
breathing and relaxation.
There Is no excuse for the normal
speaking individual to speak in a loud
voice to stutterer, as many do for some
mysterious reason; probably on the as
sumption that sufferers are inclined
toward deafness or have a mental in
ability to grasp the intent Of words. Do
not stare wonderingly at the sufferers
mouth as he attempts to talk-this is not
only disconcerting but brings forth the
Sufferers inhibitions and places him on
the defensive at the expense of his
speech.
Do not tap pencil or wiggle your
hands or display any of your own nery-
BUSINESS in waiting for the stutterer to
gather his facilities for speech. This
forces his attention to the amount of
your time that he is taking and acts as
demoralizing influence. Do not attempt
to be OF assistance by saying the word
that you think may be causing his tenn
porary trouble-it may not be the word
at all and your intrusion will tend to
upset him. II 1t is the word, the ease
with which you say it may be further
mental irritant to the sufferer. Do not,
in your sincere efforts to put him at his
ease, tell him to Take it easy" If the
stutterer could take it easy he would
not stutter.
The best course with stutterer is to
adopt an attitude of leisurely and
friendly interest. Speak slowly and easily
to him, in low and casual manner.
Control your own nervous tensions. Con-
vey an impression of mental tranquility.
Look the sufferer in the eye in a gen.
timely friendly manner and not with the
mental reservations of a curious observer.
The intuitions of a sufferer are acute
and he will read you like book.
The stutterer does not want any mel
ancholy sympathy. He does want to be
treated as fellow human and an equal
both Of which he happens to be. He
does not want to be laughed at by persons
of low-or high-breeding. He does not
want to be ignored and relegated to limbo
just because of so comparatively unim-
portant a thing as imperfect diction.
The logical place for the beginning of
q widespread movement aimed at the
correction of suffering and Stammering
in these United States is none other than
Washington, D. G. Ranking in impor-
tance with public works and cotton con-
troll, etc, is the humanitarian job in
volved in the reclamation of hundreds of
thousands of American citizens from the
abyss of suffering speech.
R. M. KARGER.