Author Archive
Stammer School
Posted on: September 4, 2014
- In: Video
- Leave a Comment
This is the documentary that appeared in the UK about two weeks ago, featuring several people who participate in the 4 day McGuire program, an intensive stuttering management program.
All of the participants bare their emotions for us during the documentary, so we get a real glimpse as to how complex stuttering really is.
Thank you to Maria McGrath for sending me the YouTube link, so those of us outside the UK could watch the film, which is great.
Reflections Of Us
Posted on: September 2, 2014
What do you think of this? Being around other people who stutter is like seeing a reflection of our self. We see ourselves in other people who stutter.
Maybe when you are around other people who stutter, you think to yourself, “oh, that’s how I sound.” Maybe you’re OK with that. Maybe you are not.
Maybe it makes us feel vulnerable when we’re around other people who stutter.
Other people may remind of us ourselves, both the parts we love and the parts we don’t love quite as much.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Her Personal Best – Episode 127
Posted on: August 29, 2014
Episode 127 features return guest Annie Bradberry who hails from Corona, California. Annie is the Executive Director of a non-profit physical fitness program for kids in schools called The 100 Mile Club.
Annie has been involved in the stuttering community for her entire adult life. She is the former Executive Director of the National Stuttering Association and is a current Stutter Social Hangout host.
In today’s conversation, we chat about the recent annual NSA conference and why Annie keeps going back. We discuss contributions to the stuttering community, increased confidence and being at our personal best.
We also talk about the great impact of being Stutter Social hosts, and how our bi-weekly hosting is now something we both very much look forward to. Annie talks about the power of social media and people meeting other people who stutter for the first time in video hangouts. We also discuss the added benefit of meeting people in person at the annual NSA conference that we’ve come to know through the hangouts.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Finishing For Us
Posted on: August 26, 2014
- In: Posts
- 4 Comments
How many times has this happened to you? You’re in a conversation with someone, either someone you know well or someone unfamiliar. You’re going along fine with what you are saying and then it hits – a big block.
You get stuck and nothing comes out. You feel helpless and the moment feels like an hour. Your mouth is open and nothing is happening. Or sound is coming out but not the word.
And then your listener tries to help and finishes the word or sentence for you. Maybe they even got it right.
Or maybe they get it wrong, and say something not even remotely close to what you were actually going to say.
How does this make you feel? What do you do?
When this has happened to me, sometimes I feel angry. Angry that the block has happened in the first place and that someone has seen what I look like when I get stuck. I imagine it looks awful, but I’m sure in reality it doesn’t.
I also might feel angry if the listener has finished my word and they guessed wrong. I do one of two things: finish what I was going to say anyway and move on, or move on and pretend like nothing happened.
I don’t like to do that – pretend nothing happened, because something did. I got stuck in a block and someone reacted to it.
I wish I had the guts to acknowledge my feelings when this happens but I often don’t. I don’t like to draw more attention to my stuttering.
What about you?
Episode 21 of the occasional male podcast series features Dylan Madeley, who hails from a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Dylan is a writer. He currently works as a copy editor for Auxiliary Magazine and is preparing to self publish his own novel. He is readying a Kickstarter campaign to secure a publishing budget.
Dylan’s book is an ambiguous-magic fantasy titled “The Gift-Knight’s Quest.” Check here to find out more about the book.
Dylan discusses his plans to advertise and promote his first book, which leads us to talk about advertising stuttering before public speaking events. Dylan plans to be more “out there” with his stuttering once he is published.
We also discuss his strategies for book readings and how performance anxiety really triggers his stuttering.
This was a great conversation. Dylan shares professionally about his writing and personally about his stuttering. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to DanoSongs.
Talk To People – Episode 126
Posted on: August 18, 2014
Episode 126 features Christine Birney who hails from Kesh, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Christine works as a child care assistant.
She is also the founder of the Northern Ireland Support for Stammering and Dysfluency (NISSD) Fermanagh chapter for people who stammer in the west of Northern Ireland.
Listen in as we discuss the impact of workplace stammering and about confidence building. Christine shares about her journey with speech and language therapy, and meeting and talking with other people who stammer.
We also discuss Christine’s start-up of the stammering support chapter and the advertising she has done to reach out to people. Christine has done several interviews about her new support group.
This was a wonderful conversation with a confident young woman who embodies the importance of talking to people. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions in the comment section.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
The Importance Of Control
Posted on: August 15, 2014
I wrote a post on Loss of Control five years ago! And it still rings true today. I want to share parts of that post in today’s blog post.
Probably one of the most helpless feelings a person can have is that feeling you get when you lose control when speaking. You probably know what I mean.
My stomach feels like its going to bottom out, my chest gets tight, and my heart starts to pound so hard it feels like everyone can hear it. And my face heats up, I feel a lump in my throat and then my eyes start to well up. If the feeling lasts longer than a few seconds, my eyes spill over.
I feel loss of control when I get embarrassed, because these reactions happen automatically and involuntarily. I also feel loss of control when I get angry, or sad. I always felt like I should be able to control my reactions to feelings. Almost all of the same physical reactions occur.
I used to feel I had some control over my stuttering. Fairly early, I began to know which words or sounds I might stutter on, and concentrated on switching words or doing the avoidance thing. That stopped working for me long ago.
I started feeling more in control when I dropped most of the covert stuttering and just let natural stuttering out. Since not fighting so hard to not stutter, I have felt pretty controlled with my easy, relaxed repetitions.
But sometimes my speech is messy. I can’t predict stuttering moments like I used to be able to, and I feel more tension and lack of control.
I often feel helpless, especially when around someone new or who is impatient.
Even though I tell myself I don’t care what others think, I still sometimes feel the sting of judgment and fear rejection.
What do you think? Do you feel out of control when you get really stuck in a stuttering moment? Does this feeling ever go away?
Just Be Yourself – Episode 125
Posted on: August 8, 2014
Episode 125 features Satu Nygren who hails from Helsinki, Finland. Satu is 23 years old, is very active in the stuttering community and works as an au pair in Stockholm, Sweden.
Satu is a board member for the Finnish Stuttering Association and has attended youth camps sponsored by the European League of Stuttering Associations (ELSA.)
Satu attended her first youth camp three years ago, where she first saw a person who stutters act and speak with confidence.
Listen in as we talk about how people who stutter in Finland are regarded, covert stuttering, confidence and the positive impact acting had on Satu’s stuttering.
This was a great conversation with a bubbly, social young woman who loves to communicate. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
The podcast safe music used in this clip is credited to ccMixter.
Body Language And Stuttering
Posted on: August 6, 2014
- In: Posts
- Leave a Comment
I just finished reading a great article in my Toastmasters magazine on the importance of body language when speaking, whether to one person or a large group.
As a Toastmaster, I know the importance of body language. It helps us to convey feelings and emotions and shows our level of confidence. People pick up on our non-verbal cues and then often know how to react or respond.
As I read and reflected on body language, it made me wonder how it relates with our stuttering. I posed this question on an online forum for women who stutter and got some good responses.
Several said something similar – standing with pride. Friend Amey writes: “Shoulders back, head up, eye contact. Keeping this posture during stuttering can be liberating. It rips down stereotypes of us being scared and curled up in a ball.”
Amey goes on to say that seeing a proud person who stutters is powerful. It conveys confidence. She says, “Watch me stutter!”
What do you think? Is body language important to keep in mind about our stuttering? Can you feel pride while stuttering?
Building Confidence
Posted on: August 1, 2014
I participated in a great conversation this week about ways to build confidence if you stutter. During a Stutter Social chat, a young person asked how some of us more “seasoned stutterers” deal with the anxiety of stuttering in certain speaking situations.
Some people shared their experiences from speech therapy, some shared from their perspective on acceptance and two of us talked a little about Toastmasters.
The following are some of the ideas that we shared about building confidence. Maybe you’ve tried some of them. Maybe you’ve got a suggestion to add.
- Don’t obsess or rehearse before hand. That increases anxiety and decreases spontaneous conversation.
- Consider advertising and letting listeners know that you are a person who stutters.
- Try using voluntary stuttering to help you gain some control during the speaking situation.
- Seize opportunities to speak, such as Toastmasters clubs or other speaking forums. Practice helps reduce anxiety and build confidence.
- Remind yourself that you have as much right to be in that speaking situation as the next person, that your voice deserves to be heard.
- If someone interrupts you, calmly let them know you’re not finished speaking yet and then proceed to complete your thoughts, no matter how long it takes.
What do you think? Do you have anything to add?
Avoid Regrets – Episode 124
Posted on: July 28, 2014
Episode 124 features Natalie Bragan who hails from Fairfield, Maine. Natalie works for the state of Maine as a managing accountant. She is also a member of the Maine Chapter of the NSA.
Natalie recently returned from her first National Stuttering Association conference. She discusses what it was like, describing the gamut of emotions from overwhelming to empowering.
Listen in as we also discuss covert stuttering, the road to confidence and acceptance and stuttering more in intimate situations. Natalie also shares about her home schooling experience, which gave her many opportunities to be covert.
This was a great conversation and a chance to relive conference moments through the eyes of a first time attendee. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions, as feedback is a gift.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
Breathing Is Just Breathing, Right?
Posted on: July 24, 2014
- In: Posts
- 3 Comments
One of the most popular posts on this blog, the one that gets the most visitors, is a post titled Breathe In, Breathe Out, that I wrote on April 15, 2010. I think it’s so popular because people who stutter are often looking for techniques that can help to manage stuttering.
The program that focuses most on breathing is the McGuire program. This program stresses the use of costal breathing, where students are taught diaphragmatic breathing techniques. Graduates of the McGuire method practice breathing techniques daily in order for speaking to sound natural.
When I attended speech therapy a few years ago, one of the techniques that the student clinicians taught us was “full breath.” This was part of traditional fluency shaping therapy.
For me, I always found it difficult to concentrate on my breathing and trying to speak at the same time. Both are automatic, things I do without thinking. I breathe with ease. Sometimes I speak with ease, sometimes I struggle when I speak.
When I block, I can sometimes feel myself run out of air and feel breathless. That can be such a helpless, out-of-control feeling. But I still don’t want to take the time to stop and think about breathing and speaking on a full breath.
To me, breathing is just breathing and shouldn’t require extra, specific thought. I’m curious – what do you think?
Episode 123 features Carmen Shapiro, who hails from Downington, PA. Carmen is originally from Spain and has been in the US for 23 years.
She works as a project manager in an IT department of a pharmaceutical company. She is also the new leader of the Philadelphia NSA Chapter, since November 2013.
Carmen recently returned from her first conference of the National Stuttering Association and we discuss her experience and reflections. She shares how welcome she felt at the conference and how that made her feel more confident about introducing herself to so many people.
We also spend a good amount of time discussing disclosure and why it can be so hard to do. Carmen opens up to her fears and we talk about some different ways to disclose.
This was a wonderful and insightful conversation. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions or just let Carmen know what a great job she did.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
A Father Brought To His Knees
Posted on: July 17, 2014
- In: Video
- Leave a Comment
No words needed for this one – watch this truly inspiring video of a dad talking about what he learned at the recent National Stuttering Association 2014 conference.
Changing Perceptions – Episode 122
Posted on: July 15, 2014
Episode 122 features Yousra Ouchen, a 25 year old who hails from Casablanca, Morocco. Yousra works as a financial consultant in an accounting company. She enjoys playing the guitar, drawing and writing.
Yousra is a founder of the new Moroccan Association of Stammering, which is on its way to becoming official. The association currently has 15 members.
Listen in as Yousra discusses what it’s been like getting the association off the ground and the work it involves.
We also discuss the perception of stuttering in Morocco, and how people who stutter are seen as not having confidence. Yousra also shares her speech therapy experiences, and how talking about stuttering helps her to feel better about it.
This was a great conversation with a strong young woman who is determined to help people who stutter in her country. Feel free to leave comments or questions for Yousra. The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
Make Room For The Stuttering 
What people are saying!