Loga sámegillii. The school year is coming to an end. Mette will soon turn her nose towards upper secondary school. Everyone in her class is talking about the same thing – who will move where, which line will they choose? The young people in Masi, a village in Kautokeino municipality, have to move away from home to go to upper secondary school, away from the familiar and loved ones. For 15-year-old Mette, this is extra scary. How will she manage alone? She who sometimes can’t get a single word out when she has to speak. At primary school, everyone knew that Mette stutters. I felt safe there. Mette H. Sakariassen The childhood friends knew that if Mette was going to buy herself an ice cream, they would have to speak for her. She was afraid that no one would speak for her at upper secondary school. How was I then going to get to know others? Mette H. Sakariassen – At home, the chatter could go in one. Often I wanted to unfold all my thoughts at once, recalls Mette Hætta Sakariassen cheerfully. She could stutter at home too, but it was worst at school and around strangers. news meets Mette at home in Alta. Now she is 42 years old, and is well established with both her husband and children. She has even landed her dream job as a physiotherapist. When Mette left secondary school, she felt that she was not going to fit in at any upper secondary school. Nevertheless, the application goes to the neighboring municipality, Alta. – How did you manage to start high school, back then? Mette looks anxiously out of the window. Up until now, the conversation has flowed well. Mette’s voice and the way she speaks make you lower your shoulders and listen carefully. She is unusually calm when she speaks. She has learned that she must be if she is not going to stutter. But, suddenly she fixes her gaze on something outside the window. – Now it stopped completely, she says and stands up. Mette needs a break, and goes to the kitchen. Without mum and dad I would never have managed. Mette H. Sakariassen You have always encouraged me to do what I want and feel. Mette H. Sakariassen The solid support Mette received at home meant that Mette dared to believe in herself. She completed her first year at Alta upper secondary school. – Already in the first year, my grades went up many notches, she says and smiles so that the whole room lights up. At upper secondary school, she was allowed to decide for herself when she should have a performance, which she thinks was very good. – I didn’t have to perform something in front of others if I didn’t feel like it, says Mette. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news The husband, Eivind Sakariassen, says that he has only heard his wife stutter a few times. Mette looks happily at her husband. – It’s probably a little more than a few times, Mette asks while laughing. He doesn’t answer that. He looks lovingly at his wife and continues: – I don’t even remember the first time I heard you stutter. It wasn’t what determined whether I liked you, he says while keeping his eyes fixed on his wife. In Oslo, we meet 24-year-old Halvor Schultz. He also stutters. Dragan Cubrilo/NRKHalvor sometimes gets stuck on his words, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Stuttering has become so natural to me. Halvor Schultz In the fourth grade, his parents discovered that Halvor Schultz stutters. Through school, they applied for help from a speech therapist. Halvor has been lucky and got to try many different methods to get help with his stuttering. – Being with the hypnotist was a special experience, but I was probably too young then, laughs Halvor. He says that he fell asleep every time the hypnotist started. As a 15-year-old, Halvor tried his hand at acting. That’s why he applied to the music, dance and drama line at upper secondary school. Although Halvor sometimes still struggles to get the words out, he has chosen a job that requires him to be able to stand on large stages and speak. He is an actor. His first role was one of the main roles in the feature film “Beatles” in 2014. All Halvor’s roles stutter, but only if he himself stutters during the act. He just received an award at a theater festival for “best male actor”. WATCH: Halvor Schultz (striped sweater) and Pierre Moullier are actors in the “No One” play. The young actor appreciates that the jury did not highlight the stuttering in their reasoning, but rather looked at his talent. – What do you do if you stutter on stage? – Then I just stammer until the word comes loose, then I continue the play, explains Halvor. Sometimes he substitutes words that he thinks he might struggle with. He thinks it’s nice that the screenwriter lets him do it. Halvor’s biggest dream is to make a living as an actor, despite the fact that going to an audition can be challenging. – At an audition you have to improvise, and then it is difficult to speak fluently, but nothing is impossible, explains a cheerful Halvor. Sometimes Halvor takes a long time to say what he wants. Then it’s best to just wait and let him finish the sentences. The worst thing is if others laugh at me. Halvor Schultz It’s best if I can finish my sentences myself. Halvor SchultzDragan CubriloDon’t try to guess the word I’m trying to say. Halvor Schultz Mette agrees with Halvor. – It is also stressful if I see that they are trying to help me with the conversation. That their mouths move while I speak, explains Mette. She wants to show children and young people that stuttering does not have to be an obstacle. That is why she allows herself to be interviewed by news Sápmi. – I want to tell my own story, she says. She has felt that before as well. In her last year at primary school, Mette was Orange Russian. She chose her Russian name herself; “Scatgirl”. Photo: Priváhta At that time “Scatman John” had just become world famous. He was an American artist who performed scat songs. A genre of music without words, but occasionally he sang some simple words. These were about his stutter. – As a young person, I also wanted to tell others that I stutter. In this way, I could own my story myself, explains Mette. She remembers the Russian era as a fun time, completely without bullying. – It was perhaps because I myself was open about it. Then people stopped wondering why I spoke the way I did, Mette assumes. The melody helps The well-known artist Sebastian Zalo has been on many stages. He too has stuttered for as long as he can remember. But not on stage. I’ve never actually stuttered when I sing. Sebastian Zalo He believes that melody can help many people with stuttering. It is important to have faith in what you want to say, even if you stutter. Sebastian ZaloMan just has to stutter his way through the word he gets stuck on, and then continue with the conversation. Sebastian Zalo He understands that it may not be easy for others to do the same as him. Sebastian usually laughs if someone laughs when he stutters, then he continues with what he wanted to say. – If you are afraid of stuttering, then you have to work on it first. You have to understand why you are afraid, explains Sebastian. Schools judge children Head of the Norwegian Association for Stuttering and Sloppy Speech (NIFS), Jon-Øivind Finbråten, says that people know far too little about stuttering and that it can cause problems for children. Pupils experience that teachers think they are poorly prepared if they are unable to give presentations in front of the class. Jon-Øivind Finbråten Some students replace words they have difficulty saying. Then the teacher may think that they have a poor vocabulary. Jon-Øivind Finbråten Jon-Øivind works as a speech therapist. He chose this job because he himself stutters and experienced how few speech therapists there were when he himself needed help. Mette H. Sakariassen has also felt the lack of logopods, and has never received help from one. The only offer Mette got as a child was in Trondheim, and it was far too far away. That offer was not available in Sami either. Mette H. SakariassenShe has over time herself found methods that help. Among other things, I found out that I have to practice speaking in front of others. Mette H. SakariassenIf I don’t force myself to speak, I’ll never get better. Mette H. SakariassenNow I lecture to all kinds of groups. Mette H. Sakariassen Sometimes Mette stutters, other times she doesn’t. During the conversation with news Sápmi, she stutters very little. – Now, of course, I have been more “concentrated” because you are interviewing me. Mette says it with a smile. – Thank you for coming, she shouts, before closing the door to her cozy red house in Alta. What is stuttering?Stuttering is a speech fluency disorder. When you speak, it may happen that you: repeat sounds. lengthen sounds… or the sentence may stop before you have finished it. Tribal Day 22. October is International Stuttering Day. – People have far too little knowledge of and familiarity with stuttering. That is why it is important to make this day visible, says speech therapist Jon-Øyvind Finbråten. Research shows that it is important for children and young people to see and hear role models who speak as they do. Joke or fact? Stuttering happens because you are nervous. Joke! Those who stutter are no more nervous than others. But they can get nervous if they start stuttering while speaking. Those who stutter can stop it if they speak more slowly. Fleip! Fast speech does not cause stuttering. For some it can help to speak more slowly, but it is difficult. There is something wrong with the mouth or the tongue of someone who stutters. Fleip! Everything is as it should be with the mouth and tongue. Those who stutter have been frightened as children. Fleip! Most people who stutter have inherited it from someone in the family. Maybe great-grandfather stuttered? Facts There are 70 million people in the world who stutter. Most of them start stuttering already at kindergarten age. For some the stuttering stops, but for others it lasts a lifetime. The stuttering can change from time to time/situation to situation. It is more boys stutter than girls. Researchers still haven’t figured out why some people stutter. They believe that it can follow the family.
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Sebastian Zalo, Halvor Schultz and Mette H. Sakariassen stutter – researchers don’t know why – Special
