Stuttering 'gets worse when I'm anxious'

Nicolas Will, logistics specialist at a scientific publisher, likes athletics and cooking when he isn't at work. And he stutters. But he tries to see this holistically and finds exercises help. Stuttgart (dpa) – "My name is Nnnnnicolas Will, I am 32 years old, I was born here in Wwwwwwweinheim and also gggggrew up here," Nicolas Will introduces himself. He's sitting in his kitchen of his apartment in Weinheim, a small town in southern Germany. Will has stuttered since he was a child. He has worked with speech therapists for years and practises daily to speak more fluently. "I try not to perceive my speech as a deficit, but as part of who I am," he says. Around 1% of people stutter, just under 840,000 people in Germany says the German Stuttering and Self-Help Association. The proportion is significantly higher in childhood: around 5% of girls and boys stutter, but 70% to 80% of them grow out of it. Stuttering is a speech disorder that is mainly genetic in origin, say medics. Will's stuttering began when he was a toddler – when he started speaking two or three sentences in a row, he says. He would get stuck on words and repeat syllables. The paediatrician tested his speech and referred him to a speech therapist. He practised regularly with the speech therapist over a long period of time – but without much success, says Will. "It didn't work for me as well as it should have." At the age of 16, he underwent two weeks of intensive therapy in the larger city of Kassel. "Right after that, my speech was great." But in the stress of everyday life, the strategies he had practised were lost again – and his speech deteriorated once more. Will says that it was sometimes difficult at school. He knew the answer to the teacher's question, but didn't dare to speak in front of the class. "That can be very frustrating, and of course my oral grade suffered as a result." He graduated from secondary school with average grades. Will says he got on well with his classmates. He started playing sport at an early age. "I've played football all my life. You don't have to talk so much when you're playing," says Will and laughs. Of course, his classmates imitated him from time to time. "But on the whole, my immediate circle was very tolerant." He finds he has fewer problems with stuttering when he is with family and friends – when he is relaxed and feels comfortable. "When I'm a little nervous or around strangers, or around a lot of people, it's a bit worse," he says. However, he found a training position as a freight forwarding clerk fairly easily after leaving school. The HR manager told him at the time "that she thought it was great that I wanted to learn a commercial profession where you naturally have to make phone calls and talk a bit more." He made a conscious decision to pursue this career, as he has always enjoyed working on computers and is an organized person, says Will. He also completed a distance learning course to become a certified specialist in logistics management. He has now been working as a logistics specialist at a scientific publishing house for eight years. The job involves monitoring the flow of goods and it puts him in contact with printing companies. ‘I've known Mr Will since his job interview, when he was still very nervous and his stutter was much more pronounced,’ says his boss Tanja Keller. But over the years, he has made significant progress. "In calm, appreciative working environments, his stutter is hardly noticeable and no longer limits him in his daily work." Will is now preparing for a management role with further training. Every morning, Will does 20 minutes of relaxation and speech exercises, repeating words and practising sentences that are difficult for him. "It gives you a little more confidence and self-assurance for the day," says Will, who also sees a speech therapist regularly. He used the federal association to get in contact with other people who stutter. "It's good to be able to talk to other people who are affected," he says. Alongside professional success and improving his speech, Will also wants to find a partner. When he started to get interested in girls when he was younger, his stutter was not helpful, he says. "Of course, there are always people who react better and others who react worse to it." Today, he is very open about his stutter and mentions it early on in exchanges on dating apps. "So far, no partner has ever actively said, 'It bothers me.'" The following information is not intended for publication dpa jak waw xxde arw

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