Almog Haviv, 27, Ramat Gan
People are drawn to me because of the stutter, they like the stutter and find it attractive. The disability does not have a negative effect on the way I feel sexy, or on my body image, on the contrary. There’s something in the stutter that makes people who are with me more attentive and patient. For me, the stutter is an attractive feature that allows me to feel openness, makes it easier to meet new people – it breaks the ice, and is a conversation starter. Beyond the complexity of expressing myself in speech, there’s another difficulty related to my disability – people are too nice to me. People don’t want to hurt me, they’re too nice and I feel they’re not real with me. My message is don’t do me any favors. Don’t smile at me in an exaggerated way if you’re having a bad day, don’t feel sorry for me because it takes me time to complete a word, don’t give off certain signals to my face and behave completely differently behind my back. Accept me as I am, me and every other person with a disability of any kind. I want to hear frank, respectful criticism, not the kind that is humiliating. I have more pride in my disability than difficulty with it. It’s a gift from God.