Archive for the ‘Women Who Stutter Podcast’ Category
I Still Stutter – Episode 150
Posted on: February 17, 2016
Episode 150 features Jia Bin, who hails from China. She is currently living in Michigan in the U.S. while studying for her Master’s degree in secondary education. Jia taught English in China for 9 years, and is currently teaching Chinese here in the U.S. to high school students.
Listen in as Jia describes why she wanted to come to the U.S. She was looking for a way out and thought she’d find the answers to stuttering in the U.S.
We have a fascinating conversation about the cultural differences between China and the U.S. Jia describes China as a “culture of shame” where it comes to being different. In China, it’s all about being the same. Differences are shameful and shame is hidden in China.
We also have a rich discussion about covert stuttering, finding support through the National Stuttering Association and stuttering with confidence. We also talk about Jia’s speech therapy experiences and the huge emotional attachment that stuttering really is. She talks of carrying her country on her back when she talks.
This was a great conversation that could have gone on for hours. Feel free to leave comments or questions.
The music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
I Just Stutter – Episode 149
Posted on: February 2, 2016
Episode 149 features Audrey Bigras, who hails from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Audrey works as an advisor in research and development in public colleges in Quebec.
She is also involved in the world of stuttering as a bi-lingual blogger and she is on the board of directors of the French speaking stuttering association.
Listen in as we discuss how she found the stuttering community, the importance of meeting others who stutter and making friends, and the life changing experience she had at her first National Stuttering Association conference in the United States.
We also discuss how important it is for her to help to demystify stuttering. When Audrey first began researching stuttering on the internet, she discovered a lot of negative information. She wanted to ensure there was positive, factual information about stuttering available.
She was also concerned that there was not much French content available on stuttering and she wanted to provide a resource that was bi-lingual and easily accessible in both English and French. So, she founded her blog, Advertising Stories, which she writes in French and then translates into English. Check it out here.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Showing Up – Episode 148
Posted on: November 16, 2015
Episode 148 features Karen Krajcer, who hails from San Antonio, Texas. Karen teaches creative writing to high school students and is also working on her own novel, titled “Whisper, Sing.”
The novel is about two siblings who stutter, who make dramatically different choices about how they deal with their stutter. Karen shares that the emotional truth of the novel is based on real life experience.
Listen in as we discuss what it is like to be a covert stutterer and how it can take over your whole life. We discussed missed opportunities, “coming out,” acceptance, speech therapy and so much more.
We also discuss Karen’s involvement in the National Stuttering Association – she reinstated the San Antonio NSA Chapter. Karen talks about how important it is for people to just show up at support meetings, as it can change their lives, like it did hers.
And we discuss Karen’s part in the book “Turning Points” which was discussed in the last podcast episode. Karen wrote an essay which became a chapter in the book called, “The Problem of Passing,” about her experiences as a covert stutterer.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Delving Deeply – Episode 147
Posted on: September 29, 2015
Episode 147 features Mona Maali, who hails from Austin Texas. Mona was the chapter leader of the Austin National Stuttering Association (NSA) chapter for four years, and was named the NSA Adult Chapter Leader of the Year in 2010. Presently, Mona is a bookseller at an independent book store in Austin.
Mona also compiled, edited and published a book called Turning Points, which features the stories of many people from the Austin NSA chapter.
Listen in as we discuss parts of Mona’s story, where she honestly and courageously shares her journey both with stuttering and ADHD. She has lived with ADHD as long as she has with stuttering and both have had a profound impact on her life.
We discuss whether Mona thinks there is a connection between stuttering and ADHD. Mona shares that both disorders are highly stigmatized and often the individual is “blamed for” having the disorder. Mona didn’t receive help for either stuttering or ADHD while growing up.
The second half of our conversation focuses on how the book, Turning Points, came to be. It was a two year process of gathering other people’s stories and at the same time overcoming and delving deeply into Mona’s own personal journey.
Mona shares quite eloquently why she didn’t include her own story, and how she feels very hopeful to have published a book. She is very pleased with how it turned out. You can purchase the book at Amazon or at the NSA online store.
Today’s music is credited to ccMixter.
Episode 146 has been removed from the podcast line-up on September 26, 2017, at the request of the guest.
This has been the case with several other women over the past years. When people are job searching, they don’t want to be “Googled” by an employer and found to be associated with stuttering.
That is the case with the guest that was on this episode. She doesn’t want to be “outed” by the internet as a person who stutters.
That is certainly understandable in a world that still discriminates against stuttering and where workplace outcomes are not always favorable for people who stutter.
I’m hopeful that this will change, though the efforts of stuttering advocacy associations such as the National Stuttering Association and the International Stuttering Association.
This Is Me – Episode 145
Posted on: August 11, 2015
Episode 145 features Bernice Gauci, who hails from the tiny Southern European island country of Malta. It is underneath Sicily, Italy.
Bernice is 24 years old and is a mental health nurse also studying for her Master’s degree in Family Studies. She is president of the newly formed Stuttering Association of Malta (SAM.)
Listen is as we discuss workplace stuttering and being open with colleagues. We also discuss how Bernice has reached her level of acceptance of stuttering. Her mom introduced her to a speech therapist who challenged her to think of stuttering as a gift. In fact, Bernice did a news interview on stuttering after the launch of SAM, where Bernice talks about how stuttering is indeed a gift. You can read this article here.
We also discuss the recent IFA Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, which Bernice attended. She talks about how she felt she was in a society for people who stutter, where she could just “stutter along.”
And we talk about the Stuttering Association of Malta, whose goals include having kid’s days and reaching out to parents. Bernice hopes that SAM will get more media coverage so that awareness of stuttering can be increased in Malta.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions, for feedback is a gift.
Episode 144 features return guest Briana Pipkin who hails from Dallas, Texas. Briana is 24 years old, and is looking to transition in her work to become a classroom teaching assistant. She had been a speech therapist assistant but really wants to be in a classroom setting.
Briana was on the show three years ago and wanted to come back on so she could stutter more openly, something she’s been working on over the last several years.
Listen in as we talk about interview preparation, covert stuttering and advertising stuttering. This episode focuses a lot on the recent conference of the National Stuttering Association, and about an advertising workshop that Briana attended.
We also talk about work, feared stuttering situations and transitioning from covert to overt stuttering.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions, for feedback is a gift.
Don’t Ever Give Up – Episode 143
Posted on: July 23, 2015
Episode 143 features Samantha Temme-Raberding, who hails from Toledo, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and one “fur-child.” Samantha is a SLP, currently working in a skilled nursing home.
Listen in as Samantha shares how she chose her profession and acknowledges that she considered careers that would require the least amount of communication. Samantha also discusses her years of avoidance and the anxieties and fears that had to be later undone.
The majority of this episode focuses on Samantha’s journey toward becoming a SLP and the lack of support and even negativity she faced in graduate school because she stutters. She chose speech pathology because she thought she’d be more accepted than other careers, but found that not to be the case.
Samantha shares that it was “highly suggested” that she participate in intensive therapy while in grad school, which interfered with her clinical work. Comments were made to her such as, “It’s a shame this career requires so much talking. Have you ever thought of going the research route?”
She was also told that her disfluency would take away time needed to spend with clients, and that she ranked in the top 5 of most severe stutterers a professor had ever heard.
Samantha’s story of perseverance is compelling and inspiring. She wants to shout out Marilee Fini who was an amazing mentor and support through her grad school experience.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
Fall Down, Get Back Up – Episode 142
Posted on: June 4, 2015
Episode 142 features Suzanne Tubman, who hails from County Leitrim,on the west coast of Ireland. Suzanne is a wife and mother of two baby girls and just recently secured a part-time job as a legal secretary. She is also an avid jogger.
Listen in as we talk about covert stuttering, “riding the wave of fluency and then taking a sky dive,” and choosing or not choosing to work on our speech.
Suzanne talks about her involvement with the Irish Stammering Association and how much that has enriched her life. She also shares a great analogy about the movie “The Wizard of Oz.”
Grab a cuppa and listen as we also discuss how stuttering is cool, how an adverse comment became a motivator, honest questions and reactions from listeners and so much more.
This was such an insightful episode and both of us agreed we could have talked on for hours. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions, as feedback is a gift.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
She Doesn’t Shut Down-Episode 141
Posted on: May 26, 2015
Episode 141 features McKenna Rankin who hails from Dallas, Texas. McKenna is 26 years old and is currently studying for her National Counseling Exam. She will then be credentialed as a Licensed Professional Counselor. McKenna plans to be a mental health counselor and is interested in working with children.
Listen in as McKenna shares her journey with stuttering. She has found she has had to educate mental health counselors about stuttering, many who believe stuttering is anxiety based. It is exciting that McKenna is going into a field that she will be able to dispel a lot of myths about stuttering.
We also talk about a rock bottom moment that McKenna had when interviewing for grad school, where an interviewer asked her if she really thought she could be a counselor with her stuttering. This was the first roadblock McKenna saw to doing what she really wanted to do.
This propelled her to enroll in the Successful Stuttering Management Program (SSMP.) She says that was a life changing experience. She no longer shuts down because of stuttering.
We also discuss how stuttering helps her to have more empathy with clients and she thinks that will be an asset in her counseling practice.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter. Feel free to leave comments for McKenna.
Life Is Short – Episode 140
Posted on: May 4, 2015
Episode 140 features Debbie Riordan, who hails from Dresser, Wisconsin. Debbie is a therapy aid at a nursing home. She really wants to get into writing, and is thinking of pursuing a college major called “Professional Communication and Emerging Media.”
Debbie shares many observations and insights about having lived with stuttering. She says, “I haven’t lived my life the way I could have.” We talk about covert stuttering and the price one pays to live in hiding.
Debbie also candidly talks about social anxiety and wonders if it is because of her stuttering.
Listen in as we also discuss fears, namely being afraid of rejection. Debbie shares that she is “in her head a lot and needs to get out of there.” Debbie also mentions how she realizes she hasn’t measured her speech based on her stuttering but on her silence. This is powerful as it relates to covert stuttering.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter. Please feel free to leave feedback.
I Stutter Amazingly – Episode 139
Posted on: April 20, 2015
Episode 139 features Heidi Reynolds, who hails from Panama City, Florida. Heidi is 23 years old and works full-time as a nanny for twin children. She is also finishing up her undergraduate degree and is waiting to hear back from grad schools to which she has applied.
Heidi aspires to be a SLP and also wants to get her doctorate degree so she can research stuttering and eventually teach.
Listen in to a meaningful conversation about guilt. Heidi shares that she often feels a lot of guilt for listeners having to listen to her stutter. She is working on balancing that guilt with acceptance. She has reached a place where she feels comfortable with “this is me.”
We also discuss speech therapy experiences, use of speech tools, the Speech Easy device and so much more.
And we finish up by discussing the National Stuttering Association and the importance of self-help and support.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Stammering Openly – Episode 138
Posted on: April 7, 2015
Episode 138 features Mery el Idrissi, who hails from Mehdia, Kenitra, Morocco. Mery is 17 years old and is in her last year of high school. She wants to be a doctor someday, specifically a dermatologist.
Listen in as we discuss growing up with a stammer, teasing as a youngster, friends and support, and stammering openly. Mery also discusses the challenge she has with relationships. She feels a lack of confidence when it comes to talking with boys, even though they know she stammers.
We also discuss the support and inspiration Mery gets from the Facebook group, Women Who Stammer, the only Facebook group exclusively for women who stutter.
This was a fun conversation with a lovely young lady who is a great communicator. Mery ends the conversation by sharing that we all have a voice and it must be heard.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Episode 137 features Autumn Seigel, who hails from Wapakoneta, Ohio. Autumn is a 21 year old writer who will soon self-publish her first book, ReAwaken, which will be a young adult novella. She writes in the science fiction, paranormal genre.
Listen in as we talk about how Autumn got involved in writing and what it was like for her growing up with a stutter. Autumn also has a learning disability, which she is open about in our conversation.
We discuss Autumn’s experience last year at a two-week summer intensive stuttering camp through The University of Toledo Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic. It was the first time Autumn had met other people who stuttered like herself. She felt she gained fluency, confidence and a more positive mindset after completing the camp.
Autumn has her own blog, The Dreamer, where she describes herself as writer, artist and dreamer. Autumn also maintains an authors page on Facebook for more information on her book.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
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sode 136 features Dori Lenz Holte, who is a parent of a child who stutters. Dori hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota and is the author of the book, “Voice Unearthed: Hope, Help and a Wake-Up Call for the Parents of Children Who Stutter.”
Dori also has a blog and a Facebook group offering support for the parents of children who stutter.
Dori says she wrote the book she wished she had read when she was starting out on the journey with her son Eli, who stutters and is now 18.
Listen in as Dori describes how traditional speech therapy affected her child and the frustration and desperation she and her husband felt as parents.
She talks about being told to “keep looking” for a speech therapist who was a specialist in stuttering. That period of “keep looking” added to the silence and withdrawal that her son was experiencing as a young child who was trying, and failing, to use speech tools and techniques.
Dori also discusses the need for parents to keep their eye on the big picture, which is to raise confident and happy children. And parents should listen to their instincts.
This was an important conversation. Thanks Dori for being a guest.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
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