Stammering – A stubborn companion!

I am Vipul, Vipul Ubhadiya..almost 30 years of age. Have masters degree in business administration and currently working as a sales guy. Having an inclination towards swimming and little bit of reading.

As far as I remember I had started noticing stammering at the age of 6 or 7. I have a few cousins who used to stammer in their childhood and possibly roots of my stammering goes somewhere there. I believe stammering is in our genes.

Stammering has been a stubborn opponent to defeat. I still remember, how difficult it was to say yea sir in class. I never stand up in class and read not because i cant read, it was due to my belief that there is something in my mouth which was stopping me to speak, day after day, that something has got bigger than usual.

In my early childhood, i didnt had may friends, i was quite shy and introver because in neighbourhoods kids used to make fun of me, bullying me. And honestly, i had got used to that different feeling.

Even my parents tries to took me to good speech specialist, specially my mother. But i had been always interested in samosa’s outside of clinic. My main agenda was to have samosa’s there. Now, when i think about it, i realise how samosa’s can cost our lives. I dont blame it but i was 15 then. Way younger to understand life.

I had learnt many techniques to play with myself. At times, I used to say things by tapping fingers, making faces, cutting the words, whispering, just say statement in one breath. As stammering used to change it’s shades, i used to do so by changing myself accordingly.

College life was challenging. I shifted to being extrovert then. Started being part of youth festivals, making people participate in it. Used to have fun with friends, started roaming around to explore people and places. But yeah, i did bunk my classes to avoid speaking situations in groups like presentations, viva, role plays. But today, when i look back, i strongly feel that life would have been very different if i had attended and face those situations.

Life has started folding it’s various shades when i had got in contact with Dr. B M Palan, a well known hypnotherapist from baroda. His teachings and insights about looking at life has made me realise how stupid we behave when we have beautiful things in hand to appreciate though we cry. He emphasised to belive in thyself. Then i  had started watching my emotions, feelings and behaviour for sometime. I had trully fallen in love with myself after then.

I have started working finally in 2009, started in education industry then, excise and export respectively. All jobs in these fields had taught me about human relations, coordination, counselling, team building, leadership, selling and what not.

In 2015, i had got in contact with TISA., i was introduced to acceptance for the first time. I was entrusted to play a role of coordinator of ahmedabad self help group. I didnt had choice then so took up the opportunity. It has given me amazing dividends. We are continuously trying to spread awareness about stammering and bring stammers under one roof. As of now, we have some 20 members from ahmedabad, gandhinagar, baroda, surat, patan. And at least 7 to 8 active members who runs and participate in all meetings. We are still learning to accept ourselves as we are. It will take time, we all are ready put in our all efforts to reach that goal of completeness while being proud of our stammering.

Cut to 2017, i am working with Crisil Ltd, India’s largest rating and research agency. I am working as a business development officer there. My role is to retain clients. To do that i need to be in constant touch with all stakeholders through calls and personal meetings. It’s different and challenging, but finally, i have taken up that role too.

Way to go..!!

https://youtu.be/Jrg5lb14N40