Professional areas of interest and specialties, and what makes stuttering a unique and interesting research area.

Stuttering experiences that might be unique to the individual (ex. Mental or emotional triggers or responses)

Discussion of experience working with people who stutter as a person who doesn’t stutter, and the impossibility of truly understanding what it’s like to be a person who stutters.   

Stuttering and mental health: scope of practice is practical speech therapy, but also counseling. Discussion of how these components interact. 

Discussion of SLP assessment methods and techniques (ex. Disfluency counts), and problems with traditional techniques. 

The internal and external experience of stuttering, and the necessity of starting with the internal experience in therapy. 

Stuttering misconceptions vs. truths: what actually causes stuttering? Many possible contributing factors. 

Challenges of treating people who stutter, and best practices in treating people who stutter. 

When should an SLP collaborate with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker, for example, to assist with the mental health component of stuttering?

Importance of any mental health professional who works with someone who stutters to understand the misperceptions and truths about stuttering. 

The “F word”: fluency vs. management of stuttering. 

Goals of treatment: fluency? Management? Secondary characteristics? Or focus on the speaker’s feelings and perspective?