Well, friends, help me with my boundaries. Ever since I read Alison Hazelbaker's book and heard more talks about all the newest research, and experienced referring someone on the other side of the world to the networking in the International Affiliation of Tongue-Tie Professionals (IATP), I finally began to realize how many tongue-ties I must have overlooked in babies for decades, 


I now find myself automatically (and frequently) "snapped to attention" by certain adult speakers. Many are in high places world wide. There was one foreign correspondent I heard on the Charlie Rose show last night, and I can't begin to count how many others, lawyers on C-Span, etc. I noted this in a local taxi driver recently. I know these folks have probably struggled for years compensating with speech therapy, and I am aware of the case of Linda Smith, who showed us local BF folks the video of her tongue revision as an adult. She never sounded as if she had a speech impediment, and she was a high school teacher. But she said that speaking had always fatigued her mouth muscles so much, and that the revision reversed that mouth muscle fatigue right away.


Here is my question. What would be the polite thing to do, given my buttinsky need to control my "savior complex". 


This summer, while on a visit, I attended a number of patriotic and popular summer symphony concerts in a large midwest city. The conductor is known all over the world for his excellence. But the many times he spoke to the audience, it was painfully obvious that he has a severe tongue tie. And he has small children, and apparently, another is expected this year.


A large part of me keeps telling me "Absolutely, keep your mouth shut! To reach this point in his life, he has sacrificed so much thus far, and might well feel insulted if anyone were to comment on his disability." Another part of me wonders whether it might be "kinder" (a.k.a., relieve my compulsion) to send an anonymous note of congratulations about the concerts along with a copy of the ILCA  Inside Track educational sheet and the url of Dr. Kotlow's website, and maybe others. Perhaps not so much for him because he is an adult who can make choices about his disability, but perhaps for the sake of his children???


I am fully aware this is a boundary problem of my own. But does anyone else understand? Does anyone else keep noting varying degrees of speech defects in the media and society around them? Are there more adolescents and adults getting TT revisions now that there is more info out there???Is there someone with clout who might contact the popular press, perhaps TIME magazine to run an article on this even, so that those who did not have the benefit of today's knowledge might see they have more choices now??


Or should I just tend to my own knitting here at home???


K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer    Dayton OH

   

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