Some Stutter, Luh!

Dr. Freeman is an assistant professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at Oklahoma State University. Greg speaks to Valerie about her Deaf Experience, Deaf Expression (DXDX) Project and how listeners can take more responsibility for ensuring smoother communication with people who communicate differently.

Click here for more information about the Deaf Experience, Deaf expression Project.

Caroline Bredeson recently retired from her private practice in stuttering therapy in Ottawa, Ontario and has passed the torch on to Julie Rodrigue, her former student who is herself a person who clutters. Join Greg as he speaks with Caroline and Julie about being a speech-language pathology student (and teaching them!), developing a deep understanding of stuttering and its impacts, and working as an S-LP with a fluency disorder.

In this episode Greg speaks with Kim Block, a full-time student at Simon Fraser University completing a degree in Criminology with a certificate in Social Justice. Kim is a person who stutters and has been involved in the stuttering community for over twenty years. She runs the website Speaking Up and is author of the children’s book series Adventures of a Stuttering Superhero.

After years of struggling with bullying, depression, suicide, loneliness, and anxiety, Robert was inspired to write his memoir, Just One More Drive: The true story of a stuttering homosexual and his race car. 

Help is available for suicide crisis and prevention.

Get support from a local crisis centre. There is also Talk Suicide Canada (1-833-456-4566), Kids Help Phone, the Hope for Wellness Help Line, and 1 866 APPELLE (277-3553) (Quebec residents), that all offer 24/7 support.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1.

In this episode, Greg speaks with Tom Scharstein, a person who stutters and an entrepreneur from South Florida, USA. Taking full advantage of the changing times with the new dependence on virtual connection, he and a team of innovators created the World Stuttering Network (WSN) in 2020. The mission of the WSN is to create a discussion among the world's stuttering support leaders to share helpful information & best practices to provide the best help for people who stutter globally. The WSN hosts the annual 'StutterFEST!', a 24-hour celebration of the world stuttering community. Guests and organizations from around the world present on multiple virtual stages throughout the day, allowing attendees from every time zone to attend.

Tom's life journey with stuttering has included over 25 years in stuttering support, mostly as a support group leader. 3 out of his 4 household family members stutter, which makes the family dynamic very interesting, as each person stutters & deals with their stutter differently.

Lisa & Tom are avid outdoor enthusiasts, and are often found paddling around Florida on the weekends.

Interview with Susan Khaladkar

Interview with Nikhil Bilkha

After a short summer hiatus, we are back with Mary Wood, who, after her first interview with Greg, published her first book Beyond the Fear of Stuttering: My Journey to Self-Acceptance and Freedom.

Join Greg and Mary as they talk about the wonderful life lessons Mary shares in the book, including the powerful role of thought in controlling behaviour as well as what it takes to overcome fear and rejection. Mary challenges us to change our perspectives on how we approach stuttering (she sees it as a GIFT) and discusses her belief that it's not up to others to determine who we are. As a pastor in the Unity Church, Mary reflects on the role of spirituality in stuttering support - forgiveness and gratitude - and how there is so much more to people who stutter than simply stuttering.

Since 1993, Mary has inspired people at conferences in Canada, the United States, parts of Europe, and Great Britain. Currently Mary resides in Lee’s Summit Missouri, USA.

Episode Description

Jenny was recent Guest on SSL!  where she was joined by two of her colleagues from the Stuttering Scholarship Alliance, now renamed My Speech, to discus the great work that this amazing organization is doing.  My Speech is a non profit organization dedicated to providing a bridge to access for people who stutter—otherwise facing barriers of access—to achieve their fullest potential and receive effective speech therapy. During this conversation, Greg managed to get a glimpse of Jenny's lived experience as a PWS.  So, to find out more about Jenny's story Greg thought a SSL! Guest revisit was in order.  Greg was touched by the commitment and work that Jenny has placed on her self care journey to accept and embrace her stutter

About

Jenny McGuire is a person who stutters and a vociferous advocate for the stuttering community.  Jenny’s journey as a stutterer has been marked by many different speech therapy experiences. Most of these therapies taught her behaviors intended to mask her stutter–spoiler, these tricks never worked when she needed them most–but did little to address the spate of adverse cognitive and affective effects of stuttering. ARTs (avoidance reduction therapy for stuttering) with Vivian Sisskin changed the trajectory of Jenny’s life. Through ARTs group therapy Jenny learned that a distinction can be drawn between the problem of stuttering and the act of stuttering. Having some dysfluencies when she spoke was not ruining her life, but her avoidance of stuttering along with constant negative thoughts and feelings about stuttering sure were. Through hard work, doing the things she didn’t want to do, and leveraging the loving support of a wonderful group therapy community, Jenny climbed out of the darkness that is the problem of stuttering.

As Executive Director My Speech, Jenny can’t think of anything she feels more passionately about than removing barriers so that others–particularly individuals from underserved communities– may find a way out of the darkness and live full, joyful lives, stuttering and all. My Speech touches the part of her that knows that everything is more tolerable and manageable within the context of a supportive community, and she looks forward to connecting stutterers with “their people” so that they may continue to thrive in the long term.

Stuttering, Mental Health, and Self Care