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The expansion of computers into homes and access to the Internet has created a "brand new world" for people who stutter. "The Internet has opened up the possibility for good communication for people who stutter," says Temple University professor Woody Starkweather, a communication sciences expert who in 1990, established one of the first list serves [bulletin boards] for stutterers. "Stutt-L" [list serve] says Starkweather serves the purpose of a support group, while the Internet in its entirety is a democracy where the fact that you are a stutterer is not relevant. "The Internet is a place where people who stutter can exchange ideas, get things off their chest and access information that through other venues would be more difficult."
Twenty four year old Jim Tsiamisioris, a sociology major at Kean College, subscribes to list serves for stutterers and uses email regularly. "I think the Internet and the PC over all has had a positive impact on people who stutter," says Tsiamisioris. "It [ the Internet} has made me a more informed consumer…I hear what new research is being done and different therapies." Starkweather says more research needs to be done to examine the most effective ways for people who stutter as well as people with other communication disorders and disabilities to use the Internet, and cautions stutterers against using the Internet and other PC technology as the only means to communicate.
Read Personal Stories from People Who Stutter
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