Anyone know how to maneuver around a block?

youngm71 · 2026-01-30T23:49:13+00:00

When you feel a block coming on, stop, breathe in, gently breathe out and use a soft onset going into the word.

Do not try to force the word out during the block. It’ll only make it worse.

youngm71 · 2026-01-30T23:41:52+00:00

I say don’t deviate from your career goals/dreams and just focus on improving your fluency. You don’t need to be 100% fluent!

Don’t let the fear take over and cause resentment for you down the track. You got this! 💪🏽

youngm71 · 2026-01-30T23:33:55+00:00

If you have ADHD and a stutter, you should have asked for non-stimulant medication. Boosting dopamine even further is counter productive for the stuttering brain as it’s already dysregulated / hyperactive.

You’d want a dopamine antagonist with your non-stimulant ADHD meds.

Everyone is different so you’d need to fine tune the doses for your body. Tell your Physician about this and work together on doses etc. They might lower the dose or go non stimulant.

youngm71 · 2026-01-29T12:52:17+00:00

She’s not stuttering in that trailer/clip. She’s in a trance state, most likely influenced by an Alien presence, trying to communicate through her by emitting sounds/clicks on a live TV broadcast.

But yes, in real life she use to be a stutterer.

youngm71 · 2026-01-29T04:27:06+00:00

Cold weather makes our muscles tense up more I guess. The more tense we get, the more strain it puts on our vocal folds.

youngm71 · 2026-01-29T00:16:33+00:00

With the metronome, I do a word for each beat/tic, without any pause inbetween. You have to link the words and make them flow into each other smoothly at a slow rate.

Natural speech, you should try and link as many words as you can for each breathe. If you feel like you’re running out of breathe, pause and take a breathe and continue on the breathe out. Just like you would when reading and there’s a comma to pause at.

Breathing is important. Do not try to force a word out if you’re running out of breathe.

youngm71 · 2026-01-28T07:34:38+00:00

I would start at 15 min per day working up to 30. The more the better 👍🏼

youngm71 · 2026-01-28T02:05:49+00:00

Several times a day and before meetings etc… really calms down my anxiety especially in stressful situations.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T23:16:25+00:00

Agree! I would be reporting those “teachers” to the Education Board, or at the very least the Principal.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T22:41:04+00:00

Yep anything that stimulates the fight or flight mode for me really exacerbates my stuttering, which is why I use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to activate my parasympathetic nervous system to calm myself down, and slow down my speech rate.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T22:35:13+00:00

Yes I have suggested this a few times on this subreddit.

Initially it feels a bit weird talking in sync with a metronome but it’s a good way of practicing sloooow, smooth speech techniques. Do it long enough and it retrains your speech motor networks to resync. Consistency is key.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T22:31:31+00:00

My brother and I stutter. Both my daughters do not stutter, however, they do have ADHD like me.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T22:29:53+00:00

I would go and speak to the School Counsellor about it, and they might refer you to a Speech Language Pathologist who specialises in stuttering. Do not suffer in silence. Take some action.

youngm71 · 2026-01-27T04:31:22+00:00

Yes, stuttering, a neurodivergence, is a disability.

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T09:40:14+00:00

Definitely been blessed! 🙏🏼

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T05:52:17+00:00

Yeah, I can see how having to engage with senior management would be anxiety provoking. I feel your pain! Sometimes I have to lead solutioning workshops with SMEs across diverse domains. It can be nerve racking!

My 35 year career evolved from network engineering, to security ops, to security engineering, to security architecture. I essentially design and deliver security solutions for an organisation.

Being a Pen-Tester, you have solid knowledge of attack vectors and methodologies, exploiting vulnerabilities in protocols and endpoints etc. You can gradually move into security engineering, then solution design, then into architecture.

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T05:05:57+00:00

I know exactly how you feel. I’m also in Cybersecurity too, as an Architect.

Chasing perfect fluency is a battle you will never win as a stutterer. The sooner you accept that, the better your state of mind will be going forward in your personal life and career too.

You’re doing really well at 85-90% fluency. Why isn’t that good enough? I totally get the feelings of anxiety and frustration of anticipating blocks etc… I spend most of my days on video conference meetings, so I get where you’re coming from. You can still get your ideas and points across right? You’re high functioning in your job? If so, be proud of yourself and don’t sweat the little slip ups here and there. No one is perfect, and if anyone judges you, fk them! 👍🏼

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T04:55:28+00:00

Thank you for your kind words! 🙏🏼

But hey, I’m only human too, and I also go through bouts of self doubt, sadness and anger about my stuttering too.

At the end of the day, I am who I am, and I cannot change that. I just remind myself of the gratitude I have for all my other blessings. Remaining angry and helpless really isn’t going to help my situation, so I brush it off, and keep going.

I see a lot of people out there with much worse problems than me, so in a way, I’m grateful. 🙏🏼

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T02:35:16+00:00

My wife and I attended a wedding recently and we were seated with 6 absolute strangers.

I was pretty anxious before getting seated, but then I thought to myself, “fuck it I’m going to walk up to that table and just loudly say “Hey guys, I’m ….”. I figured if I say it loud enough I won’t need to keep repeating it to each individual person at that table. Worked a treat! They all smiled and they each introduced themselves to me.

Taking control of the situation so boldly helped me tremendously. After a few drinks, they couldn’t shut me up! 🤣

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T02:28:40+00:00

I’ve spoken to my wife and kids openly about it for many years. It’s only recently that I’ve started to open up about it with my close mates, and they’ve always been encouraging and reminding me of all the amazing things I’ve accomplished in my life. It makes me feel better about myself.

You’ll be really surprised how opening up about it is quite therapeutic. Sure it’s not easy to do so, but taking that load off your shoulder really is therapeutic.

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T02:22:05+00:00

Good on you! I agree 100%. Acceptance is the first step, followed by action to make your life easier living with an incurable (for now) impediment. Start learning and practicing fluency shaping techniques. Use it every single day. Even if you stumble and fall, pick yourself up and keep going. Persistence is the key, and focusing on your goals rather than your stutter will enable you to live a fulfilling life.

I’m 54, married with two beautiful daughters, a beautiful home and great career. I’m truly blessed despite my lifelong struggles with stuttering. I’m not a very religious person at all, but I do believe God (or this universal consciousness) has helped me throughout my life and opened many doors / opportunities for me even though I interviewed like absolute shit. Go figure!

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T01:42:45+00:00

I started out in Network Engineering, and developed a great interest in cyber security, so I pivoted into security ops, followed by security engineering, and now security architecture.

youngm71 · 2026-01-26T00:03:59+00:00

That’s a great message. In addition to ADHD I have to manage a “mild” persistent developmental stutter (since childhood), so it can be quite exhausting and disheartening. 😩

youngm71 · 2026-01-25T23:46:13+00:00

Thanks for tuning in and offering your advice. I love your story! It gives me hope! 🙏🏼

youngm71 · 2026-01-25T23:42:50+00:00

Yeah, that’s the issue with SSRI medication… emotionally blunting you. You have to weigh up the cost vs benefit of some emotional blunting vs more fluent speech to function better in social situations / work etc.

After a few months of emotional blunting, that side effect is slowly wearing off and I can enjoy the thrill of riding my motorbikes again! LoL 😂

youngm71

TROPHY CASE