Posts Tagged ‘women who stutter’
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.
Working Harder – Episode 135
Posted on: February 17, 2015
Episode 135 features Ashley Marcinkiewicz, who hails from Clifton Park, NY. Ashley is currently a PhD student at the University of New Hampshire, where she is studying microbiology. As a PhD student, Ashley teaches biology courses. She also enjoys hiking and outdoors activities.
Listen in as we discuss what it’s been like teaching and how Ashley has handled advertising her stuttering. We also discuss techniques and tools Ashley uses for when she gives presentations.
We talk about speech therapy experiences, the importance of attitude in how we approach our stuttering and how stuttering can be used as a benefit.
We also discuss the importance of community and learning from others’ perspectives about stuttering.
This was a great conversation, full of honesty and humor. 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.
Forming Internet Communities
Posted on: January 20, 2015
I was interviewed by a friend last Wednesday for an article she wrote about how people who stutter use the internet to form communities. The article is called “The way we talk when we talk about stuttering” and it was published this Sunday January 18 in my friend’s home town of Austin, Texas.
Talking to my friend was a great opportunity for me to reflect on all the different ways I use the internet to form communities.
I have the community that follows this blog, which is still going strong after almost 6 years.
I have the community of women from all over the world that have been part of my podcast “Women Who Stutter: Our Stories” for almost 5 years.
And I have the community that has formed from being a Stutter Social host every other week.
Read the article. It’s great, thorough and mentions me. What more could you ask for? 🙂
Just Go For It – Episode 134
Posted on: January 12, 2015
Episode 134 features Margaret Heffernan, who hails from Greeley, Colorado. Margaret is 20 years old and a senior at the University of Northern Colorado. She is studying theatrical design and technology with an emphasis in stage management.
We discuss the importance of communication in her work and how she “calls shows” as a stage manager. Margaret realizes that she can be a good communicator even if she’s not fluent.
Margaret’s dad also stutters. We discuss what it’s been like growing up with a family member who stutters, pushing herself through hard things, and not feeling so isolated.
Listen in as we also discuss entering adulthood, self-confidence, approaching job search and interviews, being open and turning a corner, and stuttering without fear. Margaret wrote a great piece describing her thoughts about stuttering, called “I Stutter and Some People Wear Glasses.”
This was a great, honest conversation about life transitions. The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Suffocating Inside – Episode 133
Posted on: January 6, 2015
Episode 
133 features Shilpa Sagwal, who hails from Mumbai, India. Shilpa is 23 years old and is studying for her Masters degree in Chemical Engineering. She is enjoying exploring her world and moving out of her comfort zone.
Listen in as we discuss Shilpa’s journey toward acceptance and how openly bringing up stammering with family and friends has helped her. She feels more supported and is enjoying life.
We discuss what it’s like to be a woman in India who stammers, how it’s a “big big issue.” Women who stammer don’t want to expose themselves and are fearful of almost everything. Stammering is seen as an imperfection. We discuss how women in India can’t speak for themselves anyway and how having a stammer only makes that worse.
We discuss The Indian Stammering Association (TISA) and how Shilpa has found support through weekly meetings and the national conference.
This was an enlightening, honest conversation that could have gone on for hours. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Episode 132 features Emma Alpern, who hails from Brooklyn, New York. Emma works in the publishing industry, editing young adult fiction. She has always loved working with new books.
Stuttering got her into reading and writing in the first place, and also piqued her interest in words.
Listen in as we discuss workplace communication and advertising, being covert, Emma’s relationship with her stuttering, and speech therapy thoughts and experiences.
We also discuss the importance of finding others that stutter and Emma’s experience at National Stuttering Association (NSA)chapter meetings and her first NSA conference.
Emma wrote an article called Good Communication on the blog “Did I Stutter?” We discuss what good communication means and our thoughts on whether stuttering is a disability.
This was a perfect conversation, one that could have gone on for hours. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions for Emma.
The podcast safe music clip used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
Being Honest – Episode 131
Posted on: November 18, 2014
Episode 131 features Vanna Nicks, who hails from Piedmont, California. Vanna is a busy mother of two and also works full-time as a speech pathologist in a trauma center at an acute hospital in Oakland.
Vanna always wanted to be a SLP but didn’t have the confidence. She moved to Washington DC and found Vivian Sisskin’s avoidance reduction therapy group. There, she found the self-confidence to go back to school to become a SLP.
Vanna learned through avoidance reduction that she had the right to speak whenever she wanted and that she became more fluent when she stuttered openly. She learned to be truly honest with her self and others.
Listen in as we discuss advertising, workplace stuttering, being approachable, developing rich relationships and so much more.
The podcast safe music clip used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Producer note: As I played back this episode, there are parts where it sounds like I spoke over Vanna. I certainly didn’t mean to and I don’t remember doing that when we spoke. I wondered (aloud) if it was an audio glitch that I don’t know how to correct. Maybe – maybe not. Either way, enjoy the episode. 🙂
Speaking Honestly
Posted on: November 12, 2014
- In: Posts
- 3 Comments
There’s been a couple of good pieces by women recently related to being honest with our speech and our stuttering. I posted Erin Schick’s brilliant poem, Honest Speech, last month.
And today, Katherine Preston has a great piece, Speaking Honestly, published in The Huffington Post.
Both authors are women who stutter and speak to the importance of being authentic with our stuttering. Erin talks about speaking fluently when she stutters and Katherine talks about liking being remembered for her stuttering.
Both of these pieces resonate with me, as I did a speech on Being Memorable at the National Stuttering Association annual conference in D.C. in July and again for my 2014 ISAD contribution.
Stuttering is a part of me. For years, I tried to hide it, push it away, deny it. I was ashamed of being associated with stuttering, for I had been conditioned to believe that stuttering was bad and that I deserved the sometimes negative reactions I received from society.
But something changed. I stopped trying to hide it, I began stuttering openly and honestly, I talked about stuttering and began to accept that some people were going to associate me with stuttering. And, THAT’S OK. It’s a part of me. It’s who I am. It’s good to be remembered in today’s world. I rather like having people remember my name.
Just yesterday I was at a school doing some presentations and someone came up to me and said, “I remember you. I took an excellent bullying class from you several years ago and you talked about stuttering. And you came to our school and did a talk on stuttering. It’s so good to see you again. You’re a great speaker.”
That made me feel good, and proud and happy that she remembered me.
Being honest with our speech and with ourselves is so much easier than hiding and pretending to be someone we’re not. I’m sure happy I just let my stuttering hang out these days.
Honest Speech
Posted on: October 23, 2014
No words needed for this. Utterly powerful. Thank you, Erin.
Dream Big – Episode 130
Posted on: October 20, 2014
Episode 130 features Debbie Rasaki, who hails from London, England, UK. Debbie works as a nursery nurse in a day care setting and aspires to be a Social Worker.
Listen in as we discuss how stammering (as it is known in the UK) made Debbie a quiet person who lacked courage. She feels her “real self” is bubbly and animated, but her stammering caused her to hide the real Debbie.
Things have changed dramatically for Debbie since July of this year, when she participated in The McGuire Program and was featured in a TV documentary called “Stammer School.”
Debbie shares her experiences with both – giving us a good overview of how she benefited from participating in the intensive speech management program and opening up from her private self for the documentary.
This was a great conversation, full of honesty and insight and a reminder to dream big. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions in the comment section, for feedback is a gift.
The podcast safe music clip used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
Can We Be Memorable?
Posted on: October 16, 2014
- In: Video
- 2 Comments
The following is my submission for the 2014 International Stuttering Awareness Day on-line conference, which runs from Oct.1 – Oct. 22 each year.
This is a reprisal of a talk I did at the 2014 NSA conference in Washington DC in July.
I was worried about making myself so vulnerable by submitting a video, but it has been favorably accepted, judging by the many great comments the video has received, many from SLP graduate students.
What do you think? Can our stuttering make us memorable?
Hear Me – Episode 129
Posted on: September 30, 2014
Episode 129 features LaShanda Lewis, who hails from Chicago, Illinois. LaShanda and her husband have three young children, who LaShanda will be home schooling.
LaShanda is also a singer, and has been singing since about 8 years old. She is working on a solo album of Christian music, which she hopes to release in a year.
And she doesn’t stutter when she sings!
Listen in as we discuss avoidance and shame, confidence and the importance of finding support with other people who stutter. We also discuss her children’s reactions to her stuttering.
The podcast safe music used in this episode is credited to ccMixter.
Episode 128 features Farah Al Qaissieh who hails from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerites. Farah works in the strategy department of a government office.
She is also the co-founder of a stuttering support group, called “Stutter With A Smile“, which began in July 2013.
Farah and a friend started the group through Meet-Up.com and advertised through social media and word of mouth. Their first meeting attracted 15 people, and has since averaged 10 people of all ages, including speech language pathologists.
Listen in as we discuss why she wanted to start a support group, the impact it has had on her and members and the group’s goals. We also discuss Farah’s own personal journey with stuttering and what it has meant to her.
This was a great conversation, where we hear a voice from another part of the world. Listen and feel free to leave comments. Feedback is a gift.
The podcast safe music used in today’s episode is credited to ccMixter.
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