ELSA reaches Slovakia !

"In my opinion, the whole programme was suitably chosen; all the exercises and lectures were of good quality. Before I came to the meeting, I had had some doubts about the programme: I had thought the topic Alternative Communication not very appropriate. Fortunately, I was wrong. I had been so concerned and bothered about my stuttering that I had not thought mime, sign language and painting could be useful to such an extent The whole week helped me understand that speaking is not the only way of communicating. I suppose that many thoughts, experiences and impressions of all the participants were similar to mine.

But the official programme was not the only reason we met. We got a lot out of the programme, but it was not all that we got. Simply being together meant very much for us. Living together and feeling "Oh, I am not the only one who stutters" was really important. There were table tennis and football tournaments organised, and we also had karaoke. During the breaks and free time it could be seen that these stutterers were keen on talking, explaining and understanding each other as for many of us it was the first time that we had met so many other stutterers at the same time, and were with them for so long. Many friendships were made and will be kept. Many stutterers will stay in touch with each other and possibly meet again in the future.

I think in general the meeting worked out brilliantly, and all the aims were achieved."

Konrad Schäfers adds.-

In the latest edition of the newsletter of the Stuttering Foundation of Ameiica, there is a note about a physician in Slovakia who is currently translating Self-Therapy for the Stutterer into Slovakian; also, the German BV recently received a letter from a lady in Bratislava asking for information and complaining about the lack of self-help groups in Slovakia.