Question

speech about "my hobbies"

Answer 1

I stuttered severely. At the age of 22 I was videotaped at a spech clinic, reading aloud alone. My speech (in this minimally stressful situation) was ten times slower than normal speech. In more stressful environments I could block on a word for five minutes or more. My speech was also difficult to understand. I completed seven stuttering therapy program with little or no effect on my speech.In 1992 I was unable to find a permanent job, despite having an MBA. While working as a temp a telephone malfunctioned and delayed my voice to his ear a fraction of a second. I recognized this delayed auditory feedback(DAF) as similar to an electronic device I had tried in a speech clinic a year earlier. I was able to use the DAF to speak fluently on that telephone call, and with improved fluency the rest of the day. When the job ended I built a DAF telephone device for myself, which I then used to speak fluently on telephone calls and for carryover fluency the rest of the day.I then built additional DAF telephone devices for friends in a stuttering support group. I stopped looking for a job and instead worked full time improving the anti-stuttering devices, which I sold under the company name Casa Futura Technologies. In addition to developing and patenting the first anti-stuttering telephone device, I was the first to build anti-stuttering devices combining DAF with frequency-shifted auditory feedback (FAF) and masking auditory feedback (MAF) to increase effectiveness. I also developed and patented a vocal tension biofeedback feature that monitors a user's voice and adjusts auditory feedback to not only induce immediate fluency but also to train carryover fluency so that the user no longer needs the device. Casa Futura Technologies devices are now used at thousands of speech clinics, schools, and other institutions. Many states provide the devices free to qualified residents.I am the author of two books about stuttering, Stuttering: Science, Therapy & Practice (1998) and No Miracle Cures: A Multifactorial Guide to Stuttering Therapy (2006). I am a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. I also studied transpersonal counseling psychology at Naropa University and authored the book Hearts and Minds: How Our Brains Are Hardwired for Relationships.My hobbies include competitve running. Highlights include the 13th place (3rd in age group) in the 1998 Portland Marathon (2:38, PR), 12th place in the RRCA National Marathon