Thanks to Mr.Tarak

Thanks to Mr.Tarak for his wonderful job in modifying our TISA blog in the midst of his tight work schedule. Though I do not know much about these things, I found much easier now to browse the blog. Great job done in a short period of time.

Bangalore SHG Feb 23, 2014 meeting report

Hi All,

Here is report of 8th meeting of this year. Many of the things happen for first time and in this meeting we celebrated birthday of SHG member for first time. We celebrated Aruna's birthday last year at her home. But this time it was official birthday celebration in SHG meeting

TISA Hyderabad Chapter Meeting - 2 March

Hello Friends, You are welcome to THE INDIAN STAMMERING ASSOCIATION Self Help Group meetings.These meetings will make you know what stammering is about and how we can control our speech patterns in day to day life.Here We Stammer at Ease.It is proved that if we stammer with easiness then stammering can be dissolved from speech.We use many techniques which help us in clearing blocks in speech.

Here we list our challenges and conquer them in group tasks, So you wanna conquer challenges? Then come on !

Delhi SHG meetup on 2 March 2014.

location:Central park Delhi                Time :11:00am    Date :2/3/2014(Sunday)

Hi friends... this is Ashmeet Singh.
This Sunday we r meeting at Rajiv Chowk central park.On behalf of being the member of this association I am requesting all of u to come there so that we can get rid from this problem. In our meeting we do exercises and work on our communication skills. It is free of cost so we "The Indian Stammering Association" invites u all.
Contact persons
Aakashdeep - 8373904012
Ashmeet Singh - 9953636674

5 MANTRAS FOR CONQUERING STAMMERING

Following are the 5 Mantras to conquer stammering:
1. Don't hide your stammering to anyone and always accept it.
2. Do practice a technique one hour daily for a minimum period of one year. 
3. Always use pausing at appropriate places. 
4. Always use head movements while speaking and practicing. 
5. Always attend SHG meetings and/or active in whatsapp group.

Delhi SHG meeting Report on 23/2/2014

We had our meeting at Jantar Mantar on 23 feb 2014. It is a beautiful place.

We were twelve members, Garvit, Vishal gupta, Chetan, Shubham, Amit ji, Akash, Sikandar alam, Himansu ,Ashmeet singh, Kapil dev, Dinesh and Sikandar sir.

Kapil dev, Ashmeet singh are newly joined members of Tisa. Garvit Taneja hosted the meeting. Meeting had started at 11 am. First of all Garvit gave overview of the meeting Agenda, after that introduction round started, all member gave self introduction. After intro round vishal intimated about voluntary stuttering technique and bouncing technique, Amit Ji intimated about traffic rule, Garvit introduced   prolongation technique and pausing technique intimated by me(Sikander Alam). In experience sharing round all member shared experience using their favourite techniques.

Invitation of new SHG at Faridabad (Haryana)

It's a pleasure for us to announce that a new Self Help Group is going to start in Faridabad (Haryana). Its first meeting has scheduled to meet at Town park near SRS Mall at Faridabad on 2 march 2014 on Sunday morning. Mr. Abhishek and Umesh Rawat will coordinate this meeting. So Any member of Haryana, Delhi or nearby location can join us in the meeting. We will be more happy if our old Delhi SHG members come to join us. Its sure that we will have a lot of fun and learning. For any query please contact us
Umesh Rawat- 9813973747
Abhishek -9873492722

Kya hua agar me hakla hu..

आज फिर ज़िंदगी जीतने निकला हु,
क्या हुअ अगर में हकला हु.

आवाज़ मेरी कमज़ोर सही , इरादे मेरे फौलादी है ,
ज़ुबान मेरी लाचार सही , कलम  मेरी तलवार है।

चल पड़ा हु ज़िन्दगी के पथ पे , होके निडर,
मेहनत करूँगा भरपूर , नतीजे क्या होंगे किसको है फिकर !

आज फिर ज़िन्दगी जीतने निकला हु ,
क्या हुआ अगर मैं हकला हु !!

दिनेश 

Heart & Will Power

In February 2013, I had just come back from a trip to the US, where I spent 3 weeks working on myself. It was a stimulating time. I began to realize that I can do anything I set out to do. Whatever that may be. I can do it – if I just have heart and will power. 

After I came back, I began to evaluate my life. Am I doing what I really want to be doing? I had several conversations with important people in my life. One of those was my brother. 

He sent me this Life Development Plan - a 45 page PDF document that was aimed at helping you understand yourself, your dreams and goals. I thought I might as well try. 

I gave myself some quite space. Locked my door. Opened the curtains, and the window. Took a breath of fresh air. And set out to figure out my life. 

The Life Development Plan first asks me to identify 5 situations that made me feel Happy / Proud / Fulfilled. I had just come back from the US with many positive situations/experiences. I filled these out quickly with recent memories I just had. 

From these situations, I was to derive my 5 core values. I’d write value I felt I had, then pressed backspace, and wrote a new value. And continued typing, deleting…How was I supposed to come up with only 5 core values? 

Then, at the bottom of the page this quote caught my eye. I thought, this must have some interesting information. It read:  

“Have you heard the talk of the old Cherokee, teaching his grandson about good and evil? 

He told him that everybody has two wolves fighting inside of them. One wolf is good, loving, humble, benevolent and honest. The other is greedy, envious, selfish and arrogant. The little boy looked at the old man intently and asked, “Which wolf wins?” The grandfather replied, “The one you feed – that one will surely win.” 

Our values determine which wolf we feed.

I realized that these values are not those that I embody right now. But those that I want to embody. The values I want to see in myself. Values that I can strive to live by. 

This new way of thinking carried into the next section of the Life Dev Plan. In this section, I was to write down my dreams. Not just any dreams, all of my dreams – at least 100 dreams. 

Do you have 100 dreams? I sure didn’t. But, I began to think about everything I possibly wanted to do in my life -- from climbing Mt. Everest, to becoming a professional Actor, to becoming an Astronaut and flying into outer space. 

I began typing enthusiastically, not worrying about being realistic – whether I’d be able to achieve them or not didn’t matter. 

All that mattered was me and my dreams. I could accomplish all of these. 

The next section, was Make the Right Choices. There was a quote in this section as well: “The hunter who chases two rabbits catches none.” 

Now that I had come up with 100 dreams, I had to identify which were most important. Oh boy, I began to C-list the dreams that comparatively were not as important. It was tough, but I realized I can always come back to revisit these ones. 

I categorized the dreams into Life Areas like Career, Education, Relationships, Finance, Health, Passionate Pursuits, Public Service, Spirituality.  Each of these categories had 3 dreams in it. 

From these total of 15 dreams now, I chose 5 that I wanted to work on right now. The ones that are most important and dear to me. 

I wish to share two of those dreams with you today.

Like many of you here, I had a dream to complete the Competent Communication program in Toastmasters. I am achieving this dream today.  

The second dream is to ensure each person in this world is food secure – this means there are no starving people in this world. I dreamt big and worded it in very emotional, powerful language. This is the dream  – 

It is August 1, 2038 and I have just given a speech to the General Assembly at the United Nations…

"We have successfully eradicated food in-security. Everyone in the world will wake up tomorrow morning and eat at least 2100 calories during their day. We must continue on this path to ensure production, storage and supply of food is continually improved - it is something that we have to work on everyday, as everyday there are 370,000 new mouths to feed.”

After I made this dream, I began to work on a specific action plan to achieve it. 

I came up with a Global Food Movement concept to educate, connect and empower all segments of the food supply chain. 

I connected with academics in the field. And I researched feverishly to learn about the industry. 

However, as I learned more about the industry, I began to think - there are so many people in the world, doing such amazing things. How can I bring about change? Who am I to try and solve this problem? 

The more I researched, the less I felt I knew about the topic. It was like people were piling books and books of information and I could hardly get through the first chapter in book 1. 

So I put it aside. For a month, it was at the back of mind. Everyday I’d want to work on it, but never made the time too.

Today, I leave for India in a few hours to speak about the Global Food Movement at a Food Security Conference. I have realized – that it doesn’t matter what happens. If I fail or I succeed, if I can solve this problem or not – that’s not what matters. 

What matters is, I tried. I tried with all my passion and commitment. 

As I felt in February, you must always remember you can do anything. Especially, after research bogs you down, or politics or people. Always remember, that catching any dream starts with believing in yourself. 

You can do it – it just takes heart and will power. 

This was a speech I wrote in July 2013. Hope it helps to remind you that YOU can do anything, it just takes heart and will power. If you want to the Life Development Plan PDF I can send it to you. Just drop me an email dhruvg05@gmail.com. 

Dr.Sachin stammering for a cause!!!

(I request the blog administrator not to make any changes in this post, neither in the title nor in the content :-) )

This is Dr.Sachin srivastav entertaining people sitting in Herbertpur christian hospital by cracking some jokes on stammering and creating awareness in people about stammering.

I enjoyed shooting the video, Dr.Sachin enjoyed cracking the jokes, the audience enjoyed listening to the jokes and I am sure PWS will enjoy seeing it.

Mock interview @ Mountain Children's foundation

A few days back, when I visited dehradun along with Dr.Sachin, I got the privilege to experience a mock interview at Mountain Children Foundation.It is an NGO, working for the welfare and empowerment of children of mountains.(website)

The interview was conducted by the President of this foundation, Ms Aditi P.Kaur and Mr.Sudhir bhatt, treasurer.

Since, it was my second interview after the initial one was taken by Dr.Sachin.So, I was a bit relaxed and prepared.Still, a lot of somewhat new and unexpected questions askedby the this interview panel make it a challenging experience for me and I really enjoyed it.They make me think rationally and intelligently to answer their tricky questions and some of the questions were really out of the box.Also, they were picking questions out of my answers itself as a fisherman picks fishes out of the water resource.

After the interview, they gave me valuable feedback and wish me best of luck for my upcoming job interview.

Not to miss, the courtesy extended to me by the whole staff of the foundation is an unforgettable experience for me.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEAD MOVEMENTS

Head movement is one of the important body language that should be used for fluent speaking not only by pws but by everyone.

By making gentle head movements, our whole body is relaxing. Usually, pws are straining their many parts of their body while speaking, which results stammering.

If they use head movements, their stammering will be reduced considerably.

Hence, pws are here by advised to use head movements extensively not only while speaking but also while slow reading, while using bouncing & prolongation techniques, telling their names, getting bus tickets, ordering food at restaurants etc.

Following is a video which shows how Mrs.Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI bank using her head movements and other body languages while giving an interview. Don’t hear her interview, but watch her body language including her head movements.

Chennai SHG meeting Report Held on 23.02.2014

The Chennai SHG meeting was held on 23.02.2014  were attended by 9 pws including a new one.

News at TISA Hyderabad Chapter Meetup - 23 Feb

Hello Friends,
Living in the present, coding one objective in a small paper, Positive affirmations, full of smiles and laughs, good encouragement, claps and clicks - This was our today's meetup essence. All mixed together gave us a beautiful weekend morning and confidence !
Biggest motive - TISA meetings are not just there to change the way we see stammering...We dont need to become fluent speakers rather we strive to become excellent speakers...TISA is a temple to worship confidence and hope...
We were 12 members for the meetup.

Core group expansion

TISA is happy to share that Amit Kushwaha, Virendra Shirse and Dhruv Gupta have agreed to join the core group. We welcome them and congratulate them for the initiatives they have taken and the good work they have been doing. We hope that we will have their inputs and counsel for a long long time to come.

TISA Hyderabad Chapter Meetup - 23 Feb

Hello Friends, You are welcome to THE INDIAN STAMMERING ASSOCIATION Self Help Group meetings.These meetings will make you know what stammering is about and how we can control our speech patterns in day to day life.Here We Stammer at Ease.It is proved that if we stammer with easiness then stammering can be dissolved from speech.We use many techniques which help us in clearing blocks in speech.

Here we list our challenges and conquer them in group tasks, So you wanna conquer challenges? Then come on !

TISA WHATSAPP HINDI GROUP

TISA WHATSAPP HINDI GROUP FORMED
TISA Whatsapp Hindi group was formed on 22.02.2014. Those who are interested to join, send a message from their whatsapp to Mr.Subham Mujumdar mobile +91 8414988979 with the following details:
1. Name
2. Profession &
3. Place of living.

Making Changes to make this Blog Easier to Navigate

Over the next few days, we'll be making changes to make this blog easier to navigate. Please bear with us.  If you notice any issues or if you don't like something (or if you like something a lot :-), let us know by COMMENTING on THIS BLOG.
Feb 22 Change 1: Default Timeslide dynamic view is used. You can change it by leftmost menu on the header bar.
Feb 22 Known Issue: For Chrome users, the pencil icon for New Post is not visible on the right side of the header bar. Workaround: goto www.blogger.com and click New Post button.
 There are possibly some other issues on Chrome, please report.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 9

HOW TO REMOVE WRONG BELIEF SYSTEM FROM OUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

We have already seen the difference between conscious and subconscious minds. Those who joined recently read that earlier post again. We learned that conscious mind is having analyzing capacity whereas the subconscious mind doesn't. The subconscious mind will store all the belief systems as it is (right or wrong) that was analyzed  by conscious mind. Subconscious mind is a powerful one. Once a belief system entered into it, the subconscious mind would not allow erasing it easily even conscious mind now tells to it that “Now I learned that I put a wrong belief system on you long back and I wanted to correct it now”. The conscious mind has to substantiate it with  reasoning  and also has to practically convince subconscious mind to agree for it.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 8

CONSCIOUS MIND Vs SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND

Conscious mind:
The conscious mind is the part of your mind that is responsible for logic reasoning.

If I asked you about the sum of 5+5, it’s your conscious mind that is going to be used to make that addition.

A nasty shakeup and lessons learned.

Before pulling the curtain off the scene, let me tell introduce both the characters.Dr.Sachin srivastav is a household name in our TISA world.So. i will not irritate you guys by writing anything about him.And, late Dr.Joseph Sheehan is considered one of the most renowned speech therapist throughout the world.He plotted various breakthrough theories like stuttering ice berg and approach avoidance conflict.

Here comes the scene...remember it is a true one.

Today morning, Dr.Sachin called me over phone and asked me to see him at his home for some work and speech practice exercises.I reached there by some 30 min. delay.This is something I really have to work on.Anyways, after some small assignment at his home, we went to OPD (outdoor patient department where patients used to wait till they get their turn to see the doctors) in nearby Lehman hospital.

Generally, the scene used to be that Dr.Sachin would ask me to stand up infront of that crowd in OPD and ask me to give speeches over various topics ranging from my personal goals to my pofessional expertise etc.But, today he was having something different, actually notorious idea in his mind.Yeah...very notorious and courageous as well.He told me that today we are going to entertain this whole crowd with jokes based on stammering.

It was quite a weird thought at that time for me.Firstly, because how can I make fun of my stammering and make them laugh at it because in all of my previous shows at OPD, I used to teach them to listen to stammerers patiently and to support them. And,secondly, as it is a hospital so will it be appropriate that i crack jokes in front of them.

Anticipating that I am not comfortable with this idea, Dr.Sachin quickly came to rescue me by taking the lead.He stood in front of the whole crowd and crack a joke with louder pitch and stammered really gross that even I was looking at him with my mouth open that what this man is doing!!!!! For an instant, i was stunned because this level of acceptance was something i never imagined from anyone in this whole world.

Till now, I used to think that somewhat it was easy for Dr.Sachin to accept his stammering as he is in training and consulting profession from a long time so might be his stammering was never quite severe.But today, seeing him stammering pretty nastiest way but with very firm control and that he was able to laugh along with the audience.Wow!!!! an experience like never before.Today, all my self created doubts and uncertainties vanished and things are very crystal clear that this man have really rose to the level where people's reactions are not a matter of concern at all and he have completely accepted stammering...not only stammering but his overall personality and life whole hardheartedly.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 7

HOW TO KEEP THE PRACTICING MOMENTUM

In this 3^rd and concluding article, I am going to describe how to sustain the present momentum of practicing techniques with same zest, interest and enthusiasm over a period of one year.

“Doing small, small, things continuously for a longer period of time is the toughest one”.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 6

HOW TO PRACTICE

In my previous article, I wrote about FAQ on stammering and the members are requested to read it once again before reading this one. In that article, the last point was a pws could conquer his stammering if he practices continuously some kind of techniques one hour daily for a minimum period of one year.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 5

FAQ ON STAMMERING

This is first of the three articles that I told to this group members. For easy understanding I have given it in a Q&A format. The answer is based on my knowledge gained in my life, from my perception and also as the Coordinator of the TISA, Chennai chapter for the past 5 years. Most of the answers are in general nature only. Please note that whenever I used the word GENERAL, it means that it was applicable to about 80% PWS. 20% PWS are always exceptional and may not match with my experience and perception. I have also given reasoning for my answers logically. But this not 100% correct and I may be wrong also.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 4

ONE PWS CONQUERED 99% OF HIS STAMMERING

 Yes. One pws by name Surendran, conquered 99% of his stammering through speech therapy. Myself and Surendran attended a speech therapy course in the year 2001. The speech therapy course was of 5 days duration and all the 20 pws had to stay in a lodge. We were not allowed to go outside for the all 5 days.

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 3

PRACTICING TECHNIQUES FOR ONE HOUR

I have noticed that some of this group members are practicing 15min and 30min only. Few others are practicing two techniques one after another. Both are not correct and will not give desired results.

First let us understand about stammering in depth. During our childhood, it started as t neurological one.    That'

WHATSAPP - ARTICLE -2

PWS - BREATHING PATTERN

Can anyone answer the following question? 
Why breathing exercises are more helpful to a stammer than to a non-stammer? 
I will give the answer in the afternoon after seeing your answers.
Before giving answer let us first know that stomach breathing is  correct one and not diaphragm breathing. 

TISA - WHATSAPP - ARTICLE - 1

 WAKE UP CALL
Good morning everyone. Let me briefly explain about the purpose of this group. This is only to motivate PWS to practice the technique he already knows and not for sharing information about stammering. I will give guidelines after sufficient no of PWS joined. Pl also do not ask questions like whether stammering can be cured,  what is the root cause of stammering etc... till such time let us know each other. 

TISA-whatsapp - progress

TISA - WHATSAPP GROUPS PROGRESS

First TISA-whatsapp group was formed on 1st, January 2014.Now two more whatsapp groups  namely TISA- GROUP-2 & 3 were formed and totally three whatsapp groups are functioning now with a combined strength of  135 pws. After giving so many clarifications to the members,  more than 100 members are now

TISA Hyderabad Chapter - News 9th Feb and 16 Feb

9th Feb News : We were 10 members.
1)Vishnu 2)Siva Teja 3)Asif 4)Siva 5)Dev 6)Raja Poladi 7)Yaswanth 8)Ramu 9)Kishore 10)Rajesh
Activities at meeting are :
1) Introduction
2) Usage and demo of Exaggerated grinding - Prolongation by Raja Poladi ji.
3) Exaggerated grinding usage by all members narrating in their to-do list of the week's .
4) Exaggerated grinding usage by all in speeches where everyone shall inspire audiences by their speech content.
5) Power point presentation by Dev - which he has to present at office the next day..
Thanks to Raja Poladi ji for coordinating good activities and giving us nice suggestions.

Report on Comm WS at Pune in Feb 2014

We had 12 participants during the workshop held at Pune from Feb 15 to 16. Ten participants were from Pune, one from Hyderabad, and one from Kanpur.

This was an excellent opportunity to all of us having two days of workshop organized by TISA. Below was the schedule for two days to learn key recovery techniques:

Day 1: Acceptance, Bouncing, Prolongation, Voluntary Stammering, Public Speaking in Garden. 

Day 2: Block Correction Techniques, Voluntary Stammering in railway station and train. 

Here are some great videos of the workshop:
1. Communication Workshop Slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwNr5fEzDnE

2. Best Role Play of the lot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGQnoofZhQU

3. All Fun during Prolongation Exercise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ZTkDMa-5s

4. Speaking out at the garden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnlsYBt4Iek

5. Train Activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6kze5SyVtI

Thank You.
TISA (The Indian Stammering Association) 

Participant Feedback
Participant from Kanpur (Navneet): Sir,the concept of tisa has changed my thought completely, now i m ready face his  world,n in kanpur i wl find contact some stammers n ready to apply these tricks.THANK's from heart.

Participant from Hyderabad (Eshwar):" I have traveled all the way to Pune for the workshop, and trust me! it is the best experience i ever had!! I got to meet and spend two days with pws, which was really amazing. The presence of many experienced and inspiring personalities and spending time with them really helped me a lot. i learned many new things and i'm not exaggerating when i say that, my attitude towards stammering is now changed after the workshop. Virendra sir and Vivek bro were really amazing and the way they organized the workshop is of top notch. There is still loads to learn and practice. I look forward to be a part of many such events. Thank you TISA"

Participant from Pune (Amol): The 2 days were best days of my life.Each member was awesome.I enjoyed a lot.All activities were exciting.The mental baggage of stammering has reduced to large extent.

Participant from Pune (Vishal):  Sir,It was the 1st workshop 4 me. This workshop gave a sudden change to my life.It was the great & most unforgettable moments in my life. It was simply  unimaginable to me. I had never thought in my dream also. The concept of workshop is very great..My life was change, my view towards stammering is totally changed. Now I am very confident about myself.These 2 days gave a big boost to my life.I really v v very thankful to whole team of TISA workshop, especially VIRENDRA sir. Sir, I got new birth...it's bcoz of you only.

Workshop Report Card in Detail

A million dollar question!!

Today morning, when travelling through the local bus here, I got quite a good block when asking the conductor for ticket and there was a big crowd looking at me at that moment.It was a bit embarrassing for me at that moment (shows that I have to travel a lot towards self acceptance).

Then, after returning to my room...i took a news paper and start reading....initially i tried prolongation....then only after a few lines....i quit prolongation and tried bouncing and again i switched over to pausing after few more lines and then I dumped that as well as I always found book reading or more precisely, SLOW BOOK READING a bullshit thing.

Then, I started reading in my normal speaking style without any technique and I read for almost 20 minutes without a single block.......then, i uttered that word "CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL" which embarrassed me in the bus for almost 10 times in my normal speaking style without single block.So, is reading or speech practicing alone at your room intact is of any use at all???

I thinks, FEAR,SHAME and all other negative feelings are the main culprit. All these speech techniques are just a mind game that,yes, i have practiced this or that technique and hence, now, I will speak better and this positive affirmation do give some ease in speech struggle and we, EXTRA TALENTED stammerers bestowed all the credit to that speech technique.

Tame Your Stammer Dog

I own a very weird dog. It is probably incorrect to say ‘I own it’; since childhood, it has been imposed on me. Its name is Stammer dog.

In my early days, this dog used to always stick to me, especially as I go around meeting people. May be he was trying to compete with me -- whenever I start to speak, he started barking. I would bury myself in a heap of embarrassment. When I asked him to keep quiet, he would pretend to do so; but as soon as I attempted to utter my next syllable, he would start barking again. Listeners would get fed up with his barking, and seeing their reactions, I would sink deeper in the quagmire of embarrassment. I would curse myself, others, and life in general.  Pitying myself, I often prayed that somehow this Stammer dog should disappear from my life.

In case you own such a stammer dog, I have two important news for you -- one bad and one good. The bad news is that this stammer dog is our lifelong companion. The good news is that each and every stammerer can tame his or her stammer dog! Taming means that the stammer dog stops being a hurdle in your development and growth. For years, I ran after an incorrect goal: to get rid of this dog. Ever since I started focussing on the goal of taming him, life has become quite pleasant, rewarding and fulfilling. I would like to share my experience in taming this dog.

Stammer dog is Capable of Being Quiet, Importance of Anxiety-Free Practice

• When I talk to myself, alone, without thinking about anyone else, the stammer dog doesn’t bark. My mouth, tongue, windpipe, lung, etc. cooperate very nicely to produce a fluent voice.   This definitely proves that there is no physical defect with any of the speaking apparatus.
• Where does this dog get his energy for barking? It is I who give him the food that stimulates barking. Filled with self-pity and depression, I used to curse myself and everyone else. Such food gets the stammer dog bark more!
  Instead, I started feeding him wholesome food: no matter how he is, he is my dog! I am at peace with myself, just the way I am. Once I became at peace with his existence, there was a magical change in the stammer dog; barking began to reduce.

• Even if this dog wants to stop barking, he can’t because I have become so habituated to his barking. It takes hard work to get rid of any deep-rooted habit. I benefited a lot by the following techniques:
• As if telling a story to three year olds, prolong every word with clear enunciation and appropriate vocal variety
• For letters and words that I fear, repeat them in various situations using my preferred technique. Freedom from fear is essential!
• Meditate using any preferred technique to quiet the mind. Even the stammer dog quiets down.

Practicing these techniques in a group with other PWS was beneficial, and kept the motivation going.

Focus on Effective Communication, Empathize with Audience

• Among the various speech therapies I underwent, some instructed me to direct my attention to something else other than the stammer dog. As long as the mind could be fooled, it worked; then I was back to the square one. If it is important to focus the mind elsewhere, why not focus on Effective Communication?
• Personally, there is a lot I want to communicate to the people in this world. When I write, I pay attention to ensure that readers can clearly and completely comprehend my writing. While talking, I do the same thing.
• Why substitute words or sentences and reduce the effectiveness of my communication? Stop using substitution.
• Talk with direct eye contact with my listeners.  
• Some of the listeners giggle; let them. I would rather pay more attention to those interested in listening and understanding what I have to say.
• Listeners are often pained by seeing any secondary symptoms that accompany stammering. I practice hard to get rid of these symptoms as they didn’t help anyways.
• When I block, ignoring my ego, empathizing with the audience, I use simple unblocking techniques that have worked for me. In case, the block is too bad, I pause and take a deep breath, laugh at the situation for a second, or say a quick sorry to let go off the weight on my mind.  And then, forgetting all that transpired, start afresh! Most of the audience appreciate my effort and salute my courage.
• It is extremely fulfilling to be able to effectively communicate what you have to say. In front of this achievement, other things such as ‘what do they think about my stammering’, etc. seem meaningless. Without attention, the stammer dog further reduced its barking!

Happily Ever After …

My stammer dog and I leave happily together; he teases me once in a while, sometimes I laugh at him. He doesn’t come in the way of my progress and I respect him as an essential aspect of my being.

I assure you, each and every stammerer, with hard work, persistence, and patience, can tame their stammer dogs.

Tarak Goradia

Stammer dog को पालतू बनाइए।

मैं एक अजीब कुत्ते का मालिक हूँ।  कुत्ते का नाम हैं stammer dog। मालिक कहना शायद गलत हैं, क्योंकि जब मैं छोटा था तो यह कुत्ता मुझ पर थोपा गया था।  

यह कुत्ता हमेंशा मेरे साथ एक चिपकुकी तरह फिरता रहता था;  खासकर, जब भी मैं दुनियाके और लोगोंसे मिलने जाऊँ।  शायद वो मेरी बराबरी करना चाहता था -- जब भी मैं बोलने जाऊं, वो भौंकना चालु कर देता। शर्म के मारे मैं जमीन में गर जाता।  मैं उसे चुप करने को कहता तो वह चुप होने का ढोंग करता; किंतु मेरे अगले शब्द शुरू करने पर वह फिर से भौंकना चालु कर देता।  सुननेवाले तंग आ जाते और उनके reactions देख कर मैं भी शर्म के दलदल में और भी फंसता जाता।  मैं खुद को, औरों को, और ज़िन्दगी को कोसता। अपनी यह हालत पर मुझे तरस आता और प्रार्थना करता कि कैसे भी करके इस stammer dog को मेरी जिंदगी से हटा दो।  

यदि आप ऐसे stammer dog के मालिक है तो आपके लिए दो महत्वपूर्ण खबर हैं -- एक बूरी और एक अच्छी।  बूरी खबर: यह कुत्ता हमारा जीवनभर का साथी है।  अच्छी खबर: हर एक stammerer इस कुत्ते को पालतू बना सकता है।  पालतू बनाने का अर्थ यह हुआ कि stammer dog हमारे जीवन विकास में अवरोध लाना बंध कर दे।   सालों तक मैं गलत उद्देश्य के पीछे भागता रहा:  यह कुत्ते को मेरी जिंदगी से हटा देना।  जब से मैंने उसको पालतू बनाने के लक्ष्य पर ध्यान देना शुरू किया है, ज़िन्दगी सरल सी हो गयी है।  मेरा अनुभव मैं आपके साथ बाँटना चाहूंगा।  

Stammer dog शांत रहने के काबिल, चिंतारहित अभ्यास कि आवश्यकता  

• जब मैं किसीके बारें में सोचे बगैर, अकेलेमें, सिर्फ अपने आप से बात करता हूँ तो stammer dog नहीं भौंकता।  मुहँ, जीभ, फेफड़े, इत्यादि बड़ी आसानी से एक दूसरे का साथ देकर फ़्लूएंट आवाज़ बनाते हैं। इससे यह साबित होता हैं कि उनमें कोई खामी या रुकावट नहीं है।  
• इस कुत्ते में भौकने की ताकत कहाँसे  आती हैं ? उसे मैं ही भौंकनेवाला खाना देता हूँ।  ग्लानि भवित हो कर मैं खुद को और औरों को कोसता रहता हूँ।  
  मैंने उसे सात्विक आहार देना शुरू किया।  जैसा भी है, वो मेरा कुत्ता है।  जिस तरह भी हूँ, मैं ठीक ही हूँ।  उसका अस्तित्व मैंने स्वीकार कर लिया तो उसमें बड़ा बदलाव आ गया, उसका भौंकना धीरे धीरे कम होता गया।  
• यह कुत्ता भौंकना बंध भी करना चाहे तो कैसे करें, मुझे  उसकी आदत जो हो गयी है।  किसी भी आदत से छुटकारा पाने के लिए कड़ी मेहनत करनी पड़ती है।  कुछ techniques के लगातार अभ्यास से मुझे बहुत फायदा हुआ:
• तिन साल के बच्चें को कहानी सुनाते हो ऐसे मुंह खोलकर, हर एक शब्द को लम्बाकार उच्चार करना।  (prolongation with clear enunciation, story telling mode)
• जो भी शब्द या अक्षर से डर लगता है -- उसको अलग अलग परिस्थिति में मनपसंद technique इस्तेमाल करके दोहराना।  डर  से मुक्त होना है।  
• मनपसंद समाधी द्वारा मन और दिमाग को शांत करना।  कुत्ता भी शांत हो जाता हैं।  

यह अभ्यास सहभागियों के साथ करने से ज्यादा लाभ हुआ, motivation भी बना रहता था।  

प्रभावी संचार पर ध्यान, प्रेक्षको प्रति सहानुभूति

• मैंने कमसे कम पांच स्पीच थेरेपी ली (ऊपर बतायी गयी techniques से फायदा हुआ। ) उनमें से कुछ थेरेपी ऐसी थी कि बोलते समय मेरा ध्यान stammer dog के बजाय किसी और चीज़ पर लगा दे।  जब तक दिमाग को बेवकूफ बना सके, परिणाम आया; उसके बाद फिर वहीँ के वहीँ।  दिमाग का ध्यान कहीं लगाना ही है तो क्यों न उसे प्रभावी संचार पर जमाये रखें ?
• व्यक्तिगत तौर पर मुझे इस दुनिया के लोगों को बहुत कुछ कहना है।  जब मैं लिखता हूँ तो ध्यान देकर बड़ा प्रयास करता हूँ कि पढनेवालों को मेरी बात संपूर्ण रूप से समज में आए।  बोलते वक्त भी मुझे यही बात पर जोर देना है।  
• शब्द या वाक्य अदल-बदल कर मैं क्यूँ अपने प्रभावी संचार प्रयास को व्यर्थ जाने दूँ ?  
• मेरी पूरी कौशिष रही है कि मैं सामनेवालों से आँख मिलाकर बात करूँ।  
• थोड़े बहुत सुननेवाले मुझ पर हसतें है तो भले हँसे।  उन पर ध्यान देकर मैं औरों को कैसे नज़र अन्दाज़ कर सकता हूँ जो मुझे ठीक तरह से सुनना और समझना चाहते हैं?
• सुननेवालों को मेरे secondary symptoms देखकर दुःख होता हैं और मेरी बात समझने में तकलीफ होती हैं।  मुझे भी उनसे कोई फ़ायदा नहीं होता।  अभ्यास कर मैं उन्हें हटाने कि कोशिष  करता हूँ।
• बोलने से पहलें या बोलते समय block हो जाता हूँ तो, अपना अहम् छोड़कर, अपने प्रेक्षकों कि सुविधा ध्यान में रखते हुए, मेरी आजमायी हुई  techniques इस्तेमाल करके मेरी बात जारी रखता हूँ।  कभी ज्यादा रुकावट हो गई तो -- रुक के लंबी सांस ले लेता हूँ, जरा सा हँस देता हूँ, या सॉरी कहके अपना बोज़ हलका कर देता हूँ -- और सब कुछ भूल कर नए सिरे से शुरुआत करता हूँ।  ज्यादा तर प्रेक्षक इसे समझ सकते हैं और मन ही मन मेरी दाद देतें हैं।  
• अपने मन की  बात पूर्ण रूप से समझा सकने पर एक आनंद सा आता हैं।  उसके सामने बाकी सब गौण लगने लगता हैं।  

Happily Ever After …

मैं और मेरा पालतू stammer dog बड़े मझे से ज़िन्दगी गुज़ारते हैं।  कभी वो मुझसे शरारत करता है तो कभी मैं उस पर हँस देता हूँ। वो मेरे जीवन विकास में रूकावट नहीं लाता और मैं उसको अपना एक अभिन्न अंग समझता हूँ।  

कोई भी stammerer अपनी महेनत, लगन, और धीरज से अपने stammer dog को पालतू बना सकता हैं। य़ह मेरा वादा है आपसे !

तारक गोरडीआ

The Chennai Chapter Meeting Report Held on 16.02.2014

The Chennai chapter meeting held on 16^th, were attended by 8 pws including one new.

I have invited one guest to validate our speeches.

He is Mr.Jagadeesan (70 y), retired Addl.Secreatary (Home), Govt of Tamil Nadu and former Advisor (HR) to Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. When he was additional secretary, he was looking after the service matters of all the top ranked police officials including DGPs, IGs etc. A highly knowledgeable person in all subjects.

When the meeting about to commence, Mr.Jagadeesan also came and joined. I requested him to validate each pws. He took 15 minutes for each pws, encouraged everyone while speaking. The most important thing was though two pws blocked severely while speaking, he always looked at them with smiling face and encouraging words. I saw only Dr.Sachin in such a state of affairs.

I requested him to find fault with each pws, but he never did that. Instead he encouraged everyone with positive speech citing various examples he experienced in his personal life.

By and large a positive meeting and everyone had enjoyed it.

That’s all from Chennai chapter.

Mother Teresa Quote Vs TISA Quote

 "If to born as poor, it's not your fault; but if you die as poor, it's your fault".
MOTHER TERESA.

" If you born as stammerer, it's not your fault; but if you die as stammerer, it's your fault".
TISA.

Bangalore SHG Feb 23, 2014 meeting agenda

Hi All,

Last week we had very good meet up. I'll soon compile report and publish it. You all are invited for our next meet up which will be held on Feb 23 at Cubbon park near Central library between 10AM to 1PM. I request all of you to come on time