Some Stutter, Luh!

In this episode, Greg and Katelyn chat with Carolina Ayala!

Carolina is a person who stutters and an active advocate of stuttering acceptance. Throughout the interview, Carolina shared her personal stories and experiences as a PWS, detailing her journey towards acceptance. She talks about the anxiety, emotions, and bullying associated with stuttering and the impacts it has had on her personal and professional life. Carolina also shares how she overcomes the negative impacts and gives advice for other people who stutter. Carolina also talks about how best to educate the public and promote stuttering awareness! 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Luca Dinu, Dr. Paul De Decker, Melanie Crane, Katelyn Mayo, Emily Murphy, Greg O'Grady 

On today's episode, Greg and Katelyn chat with Cecil Haire! 

Cecil Haire is a reporter for CBC news in St. John's. For many years Cecil has supported the stuttering community in Newfoundland, but has now decided to speak out about his own experiences with stuttering! Throughout the podcast, Cecil talks about the tools and strategies he has used throughout his life and his career to hide his stutter. He also expands on the toll that hiding his stutter has taken on him emotionally and psychologically. He talks about feelings of panic and anxiety, how he deals with these stressful moments, and how he takes care of himself. Cecil discusses his journey of acceptance of his stutter, and how disclosing his stutter for the first time on this podcast is an important step! Katelyn, Greg, and Cecil discuss the importance of role models for people who stutter; Cecil shares his role model of Samuel L. Jackson, and he discusses the idea that he, with his career as a reporter and public figure who stutters, could be viewed as role model for people who stutter.

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Greg O'Grady, Katelyn Mayo, Emily Murphy, Melanie Crane, Dr. Paul De Decker, Luca Dinu 

On today's episode, Greg and Katelyn chat with fellow podcaster Dan Rossi! 

Dan Rossi is a digital marketer and cartoonist living in Toronto, Canada. He is the host of the long-standing "Stuttering is Cool" podcast and author of the book "Stuttering is Cool" (which you can find for sale on Etsy)! Throughout the episode, Dan talks about his book and the creation of the character Franky Banky, a fox who stutters. In addition to sharing about his book, Dan talks about his own experiences as a person who stutters, discussing the concept of a confident stutter and how he become comfortable to stutter openly and accept his stutter. The group chats about toxic positivity, and how to look for the positives in a situation without invalidating others' negative experiences and emotions. Dan shares what he feels might be some of the advantages of having a stutter and also details some of the most rewarding parts of his work. Finally, all three chat a little about podcasting and Dan asks what "luh" means in the name "Some Stutter, Luh!".

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Dr. Paul De Decker, Luca Dinu, Katelyn Mayo, Emily Murphy, Melanie Crane, Greg O'Grady

Today, Greg and Katelyn are chatting with April Kennedy. 

April is the parent of a person who stutters, and, having no previous knowledge or background with stuttering, April shares her experiences and everything she learned as a parent. She shares some of the mistakes she made and opens up about the feelings of guilt that come to parents of PWS. She shares when and how she began to learn more about stuttering, and how that changed the way she reacted and parented her son. April chats about the challenges of supporting someone who stutters and the ways in which she has sought support, while also explaining ways that support and resources could (and should) be made more easily accessible for parents of children who stutter. Finally, April shares about her experiences in the NLSA support group and how that has helped change her perspective of stuttering and people who stutter. She gives advice and encourages other parents of PWS to learn about stuttering and seek out support wherever available. 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Katelyn Mayo, Luca Dinu, Dr. Paul De Decker, Emily Murphy, Greg O'Grady

On today's episode, we are chatting with Dr. Michael Boyle. 

Dr. Boyle is a clinical speech-language pathologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Montclair State University in the United States where he teaches graduate courses in fluency disorders and directs the Fluency Disorders Laboratory. He is an influential researcher in the field of stuttering and SLP and researches the psychosocial impacts of stuttering including public and self-stigma. Dr. Boyle's research also focuses on identifying predictors of well-being and communicative participation in people who stutter. Throughout the episode, Dr. Boyle discusses some of his work with Greg and Katelyn, expanding on the concepts of stigma and stigma-reduction, as well as explaining the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S). All three discuss the emotional component of stuttering and Dr. Boyle shares his thoughts on how to address this in treatment. He gives advice to PWS on how to deal with negative experiences and negative emotions. Finally, Dr. Boyle shares some of the most rewarding aspects of his work as an SLP, professor, and researcher. 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Katelyn Mayo, Luca Dinu, Emily Murphy, Greg O'Grady, Dr. Paul De Decker 

Today, Greg and Katelyn chat with Michael Campbell, as well as a surprise guest, Michael's son Cameron!

Michael is from Dallas, Texas. He is a person who stutters and is father to Cameron, who is also a person who stutters. Michael started the organization 'Smile I Stutter', which provides advocacy and support for people who stutter. Some of the goals of Smile I Stutter, which Michael addresses throughout the episode include: providing free speech therapy and the proper mental health resources for all those who stutter, having a Smile I Stutter representative in every school from kindergarten to post-secondary, and passing an act through congress which would require all drive-thrus to provide a touch screen option. Throughout the episode, Michael talks about his experiences as a person who stutters and how this has inspired him to create change! He discusses watching his son grow up with a stutter and explains that his son is the motivation behind creating the organization Smile I Stutter. Michael's son, Cameron, joins us in the interview and shares some of his experiences in school, as a student who stutters and both give advice for navigating school as a person who stutters. Michael also discusses his relationship with his stutter, learning to accept his stutter, and all the thinks he hopes to do to raise awareness for people who stutter! 

Music: Luca Dinu 

Production Team: Katelyn Mayo, Luca Dinu, Emily Murphy, Greg O'Grady, Dr. Paul De Decker 

Today we are chatting with George Shields! 

George Shields speaks with us about his involvement with the Speech and Stuttering Institute and Harmonize for Speech. The Harmonize For Speech fund was established in 1977 as the fund-raising project of the Ontario District Association of Chapters, SPEBSQSA, commonly known as the Barbershop Harmony Society. George shares what has inspired his advocacy work and chats with Greg and Katelyn about the importance of music and how it works in treatment. He gives advice for Katelyn and other future SLP students, as well as for those interested in promoting awareness and supporting people who stutter. 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Katelyn Mayo, Greg O'Grady, Dr. Paul De Decker, Emily Murphy, Luca Dinu

Today, Greg and Katelyn chat with Kim Lawlor! 

Kim is a Speech-Language Pathologist in Newfoundland. Kim chats with us about the Fluency Plus program, an intensive program used by SLPs in the treatment of stuttering. We discuss the 17 SLPs in Newfoundland who have recently completed the Fluency Plus training, and how this program can be used in the effective treatment of people who stutter in the province. Kim also talks about the importance of addressing the emotional component, in addition to fluency enhancing skills, in stuttering therapy and gives her thoughts on the collaboration between other SLPs, counsellors, psychologists, teachers, etc... Finally, Kim discusses some of her experiences working as an SLP and talks about some of the most rewarding aspects of the profession! 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Katelyn Mayo, Greg O'Grady, Dr. Paul De Decker, Luca Dinu, Emily Murphy  

On today's episode we are chatting with Ryan Gielen! 

Ryan is a film producer and took on the rolls of producer and director of the award-winning documentary "My Beautiful Stutter". This film follows five kids who stutter, ages 9 to 18, from all over the United States and all walks of life, who, after experiencing a lifetime of bullying and stigmatization, meet other children who stutter at an interactive arts-based program, The Stuttering Association for the Young, based in New York City. Though not a PWS or SLP himself, Ryan's interest in advocating for people who happen to stutter came when he attended the SAY (Stuttering Association for the Young) Gala. Ryan speaks about this experience and what led him to creating this documentary. Throughout the interview, Ryan addresses some of the profound stories he heard from PWS while filming, and how those stories affected him. He chats with Greg and Katelyn about the importance of this documentary, the feedback he has received, and the most rewarding parts of working on this project! Speaking as a person who does not stutter, Ryan shares a wonderful perspective on how to be an ally and an advocate for the stuttering community. 

Music: Luca Dinu

Production Team: Dr. Paul De Decker, Luca Dinu, Emily Murphy, Greg O'Grady, Katelyn Mayo