Hello all! I developed stammer when I was in 3rd or 4th standard. And by 6th I became fulltime stammerer. Bunking schools in oral tests, persuading friends to attend my roll call, Literally avoiding each&every situation where I have to use my speech. Became quite silent person, cause I know if I’ll speak I’ll stammer, and if’ll stammer rest of the world with their arsenal to fire their advices, cures, “Nuskha’s”, and more over their tease. I was just fed up with everyday advices like be confident, don’t get nervous, pull your tongue, stretch it (like it’s a rubber band huhh).
I grew up with advices like”muh me kalimirch rakha karo” & all that crap. By the time i passed +2 I became quite a stubborn. Since I joined TISA in august 2014, and met with Sachin Sir, my perception towards my stammering changed completely. I no longer feel as stammering is a problem for me. Its more like a part of me. I have many awsm frnds like any other random guy, I enjoy life like any other random guy and the best part is people focus on what I say cause of its content & not how I speak. Stammering also helped me improving my writing skills. Yes It may sound funny but due to my stammer only I focused very much on what to say and which word/language to use, so much so that I can now proudly say that I'm an okay okay type poet/shayar or whatever.... The point is I feel that It is because my stammering only that I am the Atul singh which u all know. If I wouldn't stammer I might have been a completely different person and might be not better than I am today. Stammering not only effects your speech, It effects your thoughts, your body language, your nature and in my case your soul too. I feel like me and my stammering are kind of made for each other. We often compete with each other , every time I have to give any presentation in my Institute. And I quite enjoy that.
Here is the Youtube link for my Video bio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXDgkINzWCo
February 24, 2017
Stammer Stories: Jaipur Comm WS: Atul Singh Sainger
March 26, 2015
March 12, 2014
Communication Workshop 06-08 April 2014(Sun-tues) at Herbertpur POSTPONED
Sorry for inconviniency. As April workshop has been postponed due to announcement of Assembly election in uttarakhand on 7th April. Due to election , there may be problem for participants for boarding loading or transport. Next date will be announced soon.
TISA Postponed next 3 day Free Communication WorkShop, tentatively planned for 06-08 April 2014 at Herbertpur, Dehradun.
06th April – Sunday (national Holiday)
April 23, 2013
Comm WS : Day 3
Feedback Update: I have just removed two comments and am putting the gist here- so that we can move to future, and not look back at what has happened. For me lesson learned is:
May 9, 2011
Videos of Goa Workshop
Santosh and Rajan sharing their experiences with voluntary stuttering...
And finally, Group Drama by both groups... Don't miss Vivek and Anil playing the cheer girls ;)
Group 1:
Group 2:
For photographs, click here
May 8, 2011
TISA Workshop in Goa - Another news item appears
April 26, 2011
Media Coverage for Goa Communication Workshop
April 25, 2011
Goa Communication Workshop - Final Day
As Goa celebrated Easter, we started the Day 3 of the workshop with a communication game. We had to complete sentences by using the techniques like bouncing and pausing. We had several rounds, and some of the sentences which were given were – “If I was a cartoon character, I would have been ….”, “If I was God now, I would ….”.
Then as the custom goes, we had the recap session. In the first round, we had to mention one activity we covered on previous day, till all activities are covered. In the second round we had to speak about the activity we enjoyed the most. Jai kept us reminding that while doing this, we had to use bouncing, pausing, prolongation and whatever technique we were comfortable with.
Then it was time for a movie. We all sat back on our chairs, the curtains were closed and Jai played the movie “Unspeakable” on the screen. This documentary was produced by John Pascovich, a documentary film maker and a stutterer, who challenged himself at various levels while producing this movie and the movie shows his journey as he started by taking baby steps, and then marched ahead to even go and speak on a radio station about stuttering. We all enjoyed the movie and drew inspiration from it. After the screening, we had a very qualitative analysis and discussion about the movie. Everybody of us, including Dr.Farida and Mr. Amey Hegde shared their views about the movie.
Post lunch, it was time for a group drama. We were divided into two groups. We had a script ready. Both groups had to enact a play with the theme of IPL Bidding. Some of the roles that we had to take were that of the Anchor of the Bidding, Lalu Yadav, Naradmuni, Vijay Mallya, Cricket players and since the two female-participants were absent some of us also had to play the role of Cheer Girls.
Both groups enacted the play with sheer passion and enthusiasm. Some of us really had great acting talent which showed when the videos of the play were then played for a review. The most loved characters at the end of this activity were – Vivek and Anil as the cheer girls. We had a hearty laugh when we saw the videos of the drama again. Then each one of us shared how they felt when they were playing a role of someone else during the drama.
Then it was time for an informal session to display our talents. Harish performed a mimicry act where he sang the film song “Kuch kuch hota hai” but in 7 different styles of playback singers. Vivek also had a mimicry item where he mimicked Shatrugan Sinha, Mithun, Om Prakash and another veteran comedian of yesteryears. (Name not known)
Then we had more communication games in which we had to say a sentence which rhymes with the previous one. We had two rounds, and some of us came with really funny sentences. In another activity, we had to speak one (or more) positive things about other participants.
As a concluding session, we saw a video of Eckhart Tolle, and discussed about his thoughts, and also how he talked. Jai pointed out how he talked by pausing in between words and sentences. We also talked about the kind of a feeling of trance we experienced when we listened to the video. We then had a feedback session, where we all talked about how we could improve in the coming workshops. Many of us said that they would have liked more outdoor activities like we had Voluntary Stuttering in the mall. Jai also talked the significance of SHG, and how we can all try such things again and again when we meet in SHGs. On an ending note, Jai played a video which demonstrated two techniques – “Pull-out” (speech modulation) and “Prolongation” (fluency shaping).
We then exchanged contacts, emails and other details and promised to be in touch. This workshop introduced TISA and self-help movement to many more people in Goa. We also got to know more people from near-by states – Anil from Mumbai and Vivek and Mandar from Pune. Many thanks to JP for all the hard-work he has put into this. Dr. Sachin for all the guidance and motivation. Vivek and Anil for sharing a few things about previous workshops, Mandar for his enthusiasm to travel all the way. Dr. Farida for all the help with logistics and innovations (like hand-out folder and participation certificates) and media coverage, and also her session. Mr. Amey Hedge, a Behaviour and Motivational trainer for volunteering to give a superb session.
April 23, 2011
Goa Workshop - Day 2
Day 2 of the workshop, started with an activity where we stood in a circle, and threw the pen to any participant. The participant to catch the pen would share any activity / session he liked most about day 1. Many of us talked about the puppet show, few talked about the acceptance videos and sessions, about Dr. Farida’s “3 A’s Session” and some spoke about learning new techniques.We then got started by playing the videos which we had shot yesterday during the interview-your-partner activity. Jai played the videos and then sought opinion of the speaker, and then spoke about a few observations which he noted. Other participants also spoke about some of the things they noted in the videos.
Jai then introduced us to “Voluntary Stuttering”. We saw a few videos from the documentary “Unspeakable” and how the stutterer there practices voluntary stuttering. We then practiced it with ourselves first. Then it was time to go out hunting for people to practice it in real world.
We went into a near-by mall. We divided ourselves in 5 groups of 3 or 4 each. Each group had a leader. Jai demonstrated voluntary stuttering first with a young guy in the mall. Then the groups split to try and experience voluntary stuttering with the people in the mall.
Back in the hall, we shared our experiences. One participant said that he was brave enough to try it in different languages he knew (English, Hindi and Konkani). Some said that they chose to approach people whom they felt were comfortable and some chose people who they found were intimidating. All of us then started introspecting on the activity. We discussed the reactions that we got. A few interesting things which were shared were: One Rickshawala said stammering happens due to TB or Polio! One lady gave an example of a lawyer she knows who stammers but can argue very well in court. Another person shared a story of his friend who overcame his stutter, while a young girl said it’s just that we all are different kind of people, and one should move on in life and achieve their goals. Many of the people thought that Stammering was because of nervousness.
Post lunch, we had a session by Mr. Amey Hegde, a Behavioural and Motivational Trainer who has been with us for the workshop to learn more about stammering. He talked about the significance of “wanting to do” anything in life. By showing us two scenes from hindi movies (Saajan and Ishq), he explained us concepts of having an attitude of gratitude towards life, and having purpose in life.
Jai then had a session on Cognitive Distortions (negative perceptions). Again we formed groups and discussed about our perceptions towards stammering, before attending the workshop, and the perception now, and the change we are experiencing. We all gave presentations of the same, which were video-shot and then Jai played the videos again on the LCD projector, and we all reviewed videos again as we did at the beginning of the day.
A few press-photographers also clicked photos. Jai will be speaking with the reporter tomorrow.
We also played a few interesting games, before we had a Q/A session and call it a day.
(Photo 1: Jai helping us with Video Reviews. Photo 2: A behavioural and Motivational trainer taking a brief 45-min session.)
April 22, 2011
Goa Workshop - Day 1
We kicked-off the communication workshop in Goa today. We were 15 of us, including two girls. We started with an informal introduction round by repeating the first letter of our names (Which Jai later told the participants, is called the ‘Bouncing’ technique). Jai slowly introduced us to various techniques like – boucing, pausing, prolongation and eye-contact. He explained the techniques and then we all put it to practice in rounds. Putting those techniques in practice with interactive games like word-association was fun! Practicing pausing technique in a fun-activity where we ask questions and we can only answer after we pick up a ‘masala peanut’ from the table, pop it in the mouth and chew it. Even though the masala peanuts looked tempting, many of us found answering before eating the peanuts more tempting.We then had an interactive session on Acceptance. Jai played two videos of Dr. Sachin speaking Acceptance, and then engaged us in a detailed discussion of acceptance, beginning with the scary and counter-arguments on acceptance, Jai slowly transited to the deeper aspects about acceptance.
After the lunch, we had Dr. Farida giving a presentation of “The Three As” – Acceptance, Awareness and Attitude. She talked us through how these three A’s can help us look everything in this world (including ourselves) in a different way. The presentation was followed by a fun activity, where we were divided with four groups, and each one had to do story-telling through puppetry. Some of us really came up with funny stories, and we had a hearty laugh. The idea of this activity was to get creative as we speak.
The last activity was also a group activity. We took interviews of each member of our group, and video-shot the same. The videos were then to be reviewed but time was running by. The videos will be reviewed at the beginning of Day 2.
We also had a 10 – year old boy, with whom Jai had a one-to-one session, and also talked to his parents. A local satellite channel – Goa 365 reporters also came to cover the event. Jai spoke to the reporters and told them about stammering, the workshop and its motives.
We look forward to have even more fun on Day 2!
June 24, 2010
Last day
Fifth Day (24th June 2010)- Students were intelligent and teacher was diligent- so we finished ten day course in five days :-) There were other pressures too. So, on the last and fifth day- we reviewed the goals set by the participants- for their subsequent growth as communicators and human beings: the things they will do on return. We also discussed what will happen most likely when they return to their regular environment- and how to cope with tendency of "sliding back". We also worked with Vinay a young boy of about 14- exploring creative ways of helping him to verbalise and feel more accepted. At present he speaks in mono-syllables, when hard pressed, and just "yes" or "no".. We did video review of different speaking styles helping us to broaden our understanding of what is normal, acceptable and good from audience perspective etc.
Later, we did Video interviews and reviewed them. After lunch we dispersed.
In a feedback session- we discussed:
1. If participants are used to fast learning in a workshop setting (for example if they happen to be Lecturer, B-Tech student or MBA etc.), workshop should be just 3-5 days duration with a second follow up module after few months.
2. Students should return and start self help groups- so that whatever they have learned, gets strengthened and they get chance to practice the skills.
3. Participants, with support from TISA, should organise similar workshops in their cities. TISA should just provide free facilitation and content.
Students have been given author invitation to the blog. Look out for their snippets and insights here.
June 13, 2010
3rd TISA communication workshop
TISA is organising a 10 day communication workshop at Herbertpur (near Dehradun) from 20th June to morning of 30th June 2010. The participants have to report to following address by 19th evening.
SMTA hostel, Bhimawala, Vikasnagar (40 km from Dehradun). Contact sachin on 19th June as you reach Dehradun.
May 18, 2010
Upcoming TISA workshop
May 2, 2010
A Novel Hope
There is a general saying in the public that no one is perfect. Therefore, each and every one of us carries our own barriers and hardships throughout our life time. These difficulties can be exhibited in speaking, writing, thinking critically, body appearance or dealing with people.
Since from an early age, I had difficulties to speak fluently like the other people in the public, most of the time, I felt disappointed and vexed with my life. However, with the continuous support from my loving father, I managed my difficulty in speaking named “STAMMERING”. At first, I did not feel comfortable to express my thoughts and ideas as I always stuck with words and some certain letters. Further, during my school time, because of the misbehavior of some of my friends, I thought that I will not be able to become a high profile person.
However, my negative feeling on stammering totally changed during the time when I was in the communication workshop in India (Kolkata). There, I met a doctor, two IT engineers, a hospital receptionist, three undergraduate students, and a researcher; the specialty in them was that they all stammer. The interesting point is that even though they have speech disorders, they have achieved high social status. Their invigorating life experiences provided courage for me to accomplish my goals while experiencing the complexity of life. As there is no cure for stammering, it is crucial for everyone who has speech disorders to accept the reality of their lives. Sometimes, it is true that when people laugh at our mistakes in speaking or imitate the way we speak, it brings tears to our eyes as we are born with a disability, but it is necessary to keep in our minds that if we can ignore and forgive such people who make fun of us, we also can become like Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill or Charles Darwin who struggled a lot from stammering throughout their life time.
The communication workshop aided me to practice various techniques like prolongation, bouncing, proper way of breathing while speaking, and pausing to manage my speaking to communicate well. From the inspiring lecture on stammering from Dr Satyendra Srivastava, who is a recovering stammerer, I could realize that there are no specific reasons to have stammering. Additionally, stammering can affect one’s personal identity, and when a person gets severely hurt for being a person who stammer, that person can end up committing even a suicide. Thus, there is a responsibility for each one of us who live in the same world to treat everyone equally because everyone is made in the image of God as I believe. From my perception, if people who stammer begin to enjoy positive thoughts, then these people will observe a sudden change in their speaking.
I am glad that I got the opportunity to understand the gift that God has given me to add beauty to my life through the sufferings in my life. I would like to thank my university, Asian University for Women (AUW), for giving me the chance to attend the workshop. Notably, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Katrina Lewis for being with me like a shadow all through the happiness as well as sorrows in this process. Furthermore, I am glad that I had several nice people in AUW for encouraging me to attend this workshop. After all, I am very pleased that my best friend in AUW, Anushka Pushpamali was with me all the time when I felt so sad for being unable to present my presentations or speeches well though I practiced a lot.
Ultimately, I want to say that God has given each one of us a cross, which is hard to bear, as he kept his faith on us. Hence, we all should have bravery to live with it happily.
“Learn to Smile with Your Failures.”
By,
Nilukshi Cooray from Sri Lanka
Asian University for Women (AUW) – Bangladesh
(Ed: TISA expresses deep thanks to AUW for letting Nilu attend the course and to Nilu as well for this write up.)
February 14, 2010
K-K-Keith in Pune
Please find below the schedule for Keith's Pune Visit:
16th Feb 2009
1 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Awareness session on stammering covering: what is stammering?, Causes and Cure? Role of parents, teachers and society in general.
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. – Question Answer session.
17th Feb 2009
1 p.m. – 5 p.m. - Role of self help, self help groups and Speech Language Pathologists , Recovery process and Motivation.
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. – Question Answer session.
Venue:
Senior citizen’s hall (also known as Desai Hall)
Opposite Reliance web world,
Dhole Patil Road, Near Pune Railway Station
Pune
Contacts:
Manohar Mikkili: 9881255051 mikkilimanohar@gmail.com
Jai Prakash Sunda: 8149106117 jaiprakashsunda@gmail.com
Please register in advance to avoid any inconvenience. This is a free workshop.