Check out the article below!

Introduction

The term “Microaggression” has been defined as a ‘brief and common daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental communication, whether intentional or unintentional, that transmits hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to a target person because he or she belongs to a stigmatized group’ (Sue et al., 2007).  In the case of stuttering, these communications often take the form of “compliments” that nonetheless transmit a negative message. Unfortunately, listeners are often completely unaware of the negative messages underlying many of the well-intended suggestions that they give people who stutter (PWS). Think about the possible implied meanings behind the following examples:

• “Ok, just take a breath and slow down”
• “Can you say it again using your tools?”
• ”You sound so good!” or “Great job” (after a patch of fluency)
• “You sound so much better!”
• “Your uncle grew out of his stuttering, so will you”
• “You did great, you didn’t stutter at all”
• “You don’t even stutter that much, it’s no big deal”

Non-verbal examples of microaggressions often take the form of listeners attempting to “spare” the PWS from being seen stuttering or talking in general. These include:

• Looking away during stuttering moments
• Gestures that implies “move it along”
• Guessing/Filling in the stuttered words
• Speaking “for” PWS so they don’t have to

PWS must call on their resilience in order for these microaggressions to not result in damaging negative self-talk related to stuttering.

We assert that therapy protocols that focus on using traditional “speech tools” to achieve fluency, as well as the corresponding positive reinforcement that is provided for producing fluent speech, can actually be very detrimental in the long run, eventually leading to excessive struggle to speak fluently and an ever-increasing set of avoidance behaviors to suppress stuttering.

There is one clear dynamic that most PWS will agree with: The consequences of demanding perfect fluency include anxiety, employment of avoidance behaviors, and an increase in physical struggle related to speaking. While it is human nature to ‘prefer’ fluency, it is empowering for PWS to give themselves permission to say what they want to say, stutter and all. As they systematically face communicative challenges head on without employing tricks to be fluent, many PWS come to rediscover their natural fluency, and find themselves stuttering without recoil or negative accompanying thoughts and emotions. Listeners can help those who stutter by supporting them in this pursuit for healthy acceptance.

CLIENT PERSPECTIVE from Mark O’Malia, PWS and SLP

For many years of my life, fluency was the first thought that crossed my mind in the morning and the last thought that entered my mind at night. I was obsessed with sounding “normal”, and every moment of stuttering was seen as an affront to my ability to belong. I saw the content of my message as much less important than my ability to say something – anything – without a single stutter.

In reflecting on these thought processes and following the threads back to their origin, I realized that much of my obsession came from the time I spent in and out of speech therapy as a child and young teen. Whenever there was a challenging presentation in class that resulted in struggle behaviors, a phone call that resulted in the dreaded “click” of a hang up, or an introduction that turned into a smirk, a laugh, or the dreaded “Did you forget your name?”, I would bring these situations up in the safety of my speech therapist’s room. While the faces of my well-meaning and kind speech-language pathologists (SLPs) changed throughout the years, the message of “That’s okay! Let’s try harder to practice your techniques!” did not change. I would quickly agree, and by the end of the session, I was using my tools with near perfect accuracy. This would be met with a variation of “See! You can do this! You sounded so great there – no stuttering at all!”.

It was only a matter of time before I was back in class, paralyzed with fear at the thought of raising my hand or reading aloud. My “fight or flight” response was activated, and I was physically, mentally, and emotionally unable to access rational thought to use my “toolbox” in the ways I showed my therapist I could just hours before in the low-stakes therapy room. This would crush me, and my feelings of disappointment and self-blame would be increased when I was met with a variation  of “What’s going on, Mark? You and I both know you can use those tools so well! Speaking fluently is in your grasp – are you still practicing?” from my SLP in our next session. On the outside, I agreed and committed to practicing even harder. On the inside, I was given confirmation that the only way I would ever be worthy of sharing my true self would be if that true self never stuttered.

This cycle continued for the first 21 years of my life, and it caused me to convince myself that every moment of stuttering was nothing more than an “X” on a data collection sheet, which inevitably led to shame, fear, and eventually, avoidance of speaking situations that would have brought me joy.

I was stuck in this loop until I found speech therapy as a young adult that fundamentally addressed my relationship with stuttering and the toxic attitudes that came along with it. For the first time, I heard messages that placed explicit value on my contributions to a conversation, on staying with a moment of stuttering instead of choosing avoidance and compromising myself, and validated the fact that facing a fear is a success in and of itself, no matter the percentage of syllables stuttered while approaching it. Fluency was acknowledged, but was not actively celebrated as adding any more or less value to my communication. This allowed me to develop a solid foundation of valuing saying what I wanted to say, sharing my experience of stuttering with others to create a support system, and eventually, making adjustments to my communication behaviors (e.g., establishing eye contact, reducing unhelpful escape behaviors, “leaning in” to moments of stuttering, and reducing tension) because of my personal choice to become the best communicator I could be, rather than an obsessive need to eliminate stuttering in order to feel that my messages had value.

I have come to learn that it is not necessarily what we say that matters most, but what we are not saying under the surface that leaves a lasting impression. While comments that come from a genuine place of encouragement about fluency can seem harmless or even motivating, they also make it clear what is being valued most in any given situation. By definition, if we are constantly praising moments of fluency and never mentioning the valuable content of a client’s words, we are also sending the underlying message that stuttering is something “less than”. This becomes problematic (or even traumatic) when we have not helped a person develop the skills to “bounce back” from challenging situations where they first may need to work through their fear of speaking.

The Role of the SLP in Cultivating Resilience 

While we do not claim that there is a “one size fits all” approach to working with people who stutter, we recognize that the words we use as both clients and as speech therapists to describe stuttering directly inform values and goals for communication. No matter the individual philosophy of stuttering therapy used, therapists must be mindful of the messages that they are sending to their clients, and work to minimize any implicit shame that is in the form of “reminders” or “helpful tips”. It is vital that we emphasize communication over fluency as well as spontaneity over diligence. 

For children, we help parents support their child’s freedom to communicate and grow in their resilient coping responses. Rather than praising fluency, we encourage parents to use comments such as:

• “I love the way you talk!”
• “Wow, you made such a great point, that was so smart!”
• “I know that took courage to talk there and I am very proud of you”
• ”What you have to say is very important, and I am here to listen no matter how it comes out or how long it takes”
• “You can talk to me anytime about stuttering, and I will always try my best to understand”
• “I have struggles too, maybe we can talk about them together..”

For older children and adults, we most likely will need to address “bouncing back” from the negative messages conveyed by past microaggressions. In addition to helping the client identify and dispute the validity of the underlying messages of these experiences, we promote self-advocacy skills to help deflect those that might occur in the future. Helpful therapy protocols may include stuttering intentionally, working on self disclosing stuttering confidently and without apology, and reinforcing open, forward-moving, non-avoidant stuttering.

We assert that given the many microaggressions that PWS typically experience in their journeys, it requires significant resilience for those who stutter to speak freely without fear of reaction. It is vital that therapists be aware of the often paradoxical impact of rewarding fluency, and instead work toward helping both children and adults who stutter to speak their mind without fear.

References

Sue DW, Capodilupo CM, Torino GC, Bucceri JM, Holder AM, Nadal KL, Esquilin M (2007). “Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice”. The American Psychologist. 62 (4): 271–86.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Microaggressions in the Lived Experience of Stuttering appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

AIS and the art of rocking a block

One of the things that struck me most powerfully about AIS when I first arrived—as an intern, way back in 2013—was how the place seemed to delight in dismantling the received “wisdom” we cling to about what we think is good for us.  Each day there seemed to be some new, counterintuitive surprise.

You say you’ve tried your whole life to stutter less? Try stuttering more. On purpose, even. In every sentence.

Nervous about using the phone? Let’s make 10 calls in a row—and make a game out of getting hung up on every time.

Hoping to God strangers won’t notice that your speech was a little bumpy? Try screaming out loud on a crowded New York City subway, announcing to everyone on the train that you stutter.

Sure, it’s classic exposure therapy. Take in a little bit of your worst fear, in the hopes that it softens its grip over you. But the folks at AIS weren’t corny life coaches, there to pump us up about facing challenges in our lives. There seemed to be something more subversive going on.

Oddball status?

I felt it immediately, in my first days in the Manhattan clinic.

People seemed to have arrived at AIS because they weren’t quite fitting in elsewhere in their lives. In every person I met, in every first introduction, even, I sensed a flicker of…outsider energy. Oddball status. And this was true not just of the clients. The clinicians, too—even us interns—all seemed to be thinking deeply about what it means to fit in, about the tradeoffs involved in hiding, in passing, in reconciling the people we are with the people we think we are supposed to be.

Time and again, the answer that surfaced was: Don’t.

AIS, I would quickly see, was more about encouraging people to stand out. Their mantra took the standard speech-therapy line, that stuttering’s okay, something we can learn to live with, and gave it a rogue twist. Stuttering wasn’t just “fine.” It was actually essential—as a defining feature of someone’s voice, as unique and rich in personality as a dialect. But it could also function as an important social tool. Stuttering, I saw, cracked open a conversation, letting our wonderful idiosyncrasies surface.

As my internship progressed, I came to think of each moment of disfluency as a little rebellion. A small bomb that made the fluent world stop, hang in the moment, and remind all of us to make space for—and maybe even nurture—the things that make us strange and interesting.

I loved this.

I am not a person who stutters, myself (which I realize makes this all way easy for me to say). But I can think of a million reasons why, at the time, I desperately needed to hear this perspective.

For one, I was miserable in my speech pathology program. I was in fact convinced I had made a terrible mistake in choosing the career path. I was old, having entered graduate school at 30, a grandpa to my fresh-out-of-undergrad classmates. I was also male—one of only two in my entire cohort. My first year, I stood out like a sore thumb, and spent most of the time in a depressive spiral, panicking over how I could possibly tamp down my eccentricities to better succeed in this new world.

In a very real way, my internship at AIS—and the people I met there, working so hard at being exuberantly themselves—kept me from dropping out.

Courageous misfits

The first week of my internship, I went to a punk rock show in Brooklyn. A grody warehouse affair, just a few subway stops from my Air BnB. The crowd was thick, the concrete floor slippery, and at some point, I stumbled into someone and cut my forearm on a spiked jacket. I came into AIS the next day with a scratch running from my elbow to my wrist. I was mortified. Yet another sign that I wasn’t cut out for this field.

But the AIS staff weren’t upset. They were curious. The director, Dr. Heather Grossman, even approached me and told me that her favorite band was the Clash. (Later that summer, we even went to see some live music together.) I couldn’t believe it. Had I found the punk rock speech clinic? It certainly felt like it.

And it feels that way now, like I’m joining a band of courageous misfits.

My hope, in this work, is to encourage people to bring some kindness, some curiosity—and maybe even some pride—to the parts of themselves they’re not so sure about.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post A New Addition to the AIS Team: Gregory Scott appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

As fluent speakers, the large majority of us can, and often do, take for granted our ability to communicate verbally. Unfortunately, this ease often makes us careless with our words. Rather than formulating well-thought out responses and ideas, too often we spew words thoughtlessly, unconcerned with the consequences. The result is not just less effective communication but, is unfortunately much more damaging than that. We see words both intentionally and unintentionally bringing each other harm.

I have always believed that people who stutter teach the rest of us to listen. I now see the potential for a positive change in how we engage with those around us. As human beings, we thrive on connection and words are the tools for these connections. Regardless of political beliefs, we can unite as people by better respecting the importance of our words- and using them with care. Having a leader who understands that words are not to be taken for granted is a step in the right direction.

Check out President Joe Biden’s speech at our 2016 gala below, back when he was Vice President!

Still interested in content related to our new president? Check out Julia Marzovilla’s article in Instyle Magazine, Eric Dinallo’s article in The Atlantic, Joe Biden’s message that “stuttering does not define a person” from our 2008 gala, his video address from our 2014 gala, and most recently, his live chat with Emily Blunt and John Hendrickson at our 2020 virtual gala.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Congratulations President Joe Biden: POTUS and PWS appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

Below are some of the key concepts covered, followed by a video of Dr. Rodgers’s research findings.

What is Cognitive Bias?

Cognitive bias is the tendency to prioritize things in your environment that align with what you expect to find.

3 Common Kinds of Cognitive Biases:

1. Interpretation bias — Attributing negative meaning to an ambiguous social scenario.
2. Memory bias — Remembering a negative event in a more negative way that how it actually happened, or remembering negative events more quickly than benign events.
3. Attentional bias — Paying more attention to negative social cues rather than benign cues.

Findings and Discussion Points:

The video below provides Dr. Rodgers’s research findings on the relationship between cognitive bias and stuttering, as well as a summary of the most enlightening discussion points of the evening:

To watch more videos discussing current research finding in the field of stuttering, watch Dr. Chris Constantino’s talk on depathologizing stuttering, Dr. Michael Boyle’s talk on self-disclosure and Dr. Eric Jackson’s talk on anticipation and stuttering.

List of References:

Lowe, R. et al. (2012). Avoidance of eye gaze by adults who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 37, 263-274.

Lowe, R. et al. (2016). Assessing attentional biases with stuttering. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 51(1), 84-94

Rodgers, N. H., Lau, J. F. Y., & Zebrowski, P. M. (2020). Attentional bias among adolescents who stutter: Evidence for a vigilance-avoidance effect. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(10), 3349-3363.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Exploring the Relationship between Cognitive Bias and Stuttering appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

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A newly published article in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research reported  the results of a recent study on the Lidcombe Program (Donaghy, et. al. 2020). This study divided 74 children into two groups, the control group using verbal contingencies and the experimental group removing verbal contingencies. The findings were inconclusive with outcomes being similar in both groups.

Verbal contingencies have been considered the “change agent” central to Lidcombe. I was curious as to what was left once those were removed. What was the true change agent if it wasn’t verbal contingencies? I turned to the Lidcombe Program Treatment Guide (LPTG) for a closer look. Components of Lidcombe therapy include (Onslow, et. al. 2020):

1. Parents are trained to use verbal contingencies, first in practice sessions, then in natural conversations. They are also trained to use the Lidcombe severity rating (SR) scale. Verbal contingencies include:

• Praise stutter-free speech.
• Request self-correction of stuttered speech (on a lesser basis)
• Request the child to evaluate their speech i.e., the parents asks, “was that smooth?” or “were there any bumps there?
• Acknowledge stutter-free speech with comments like, “that was smooth” or “no bumpy words.”

2. Clinic Visits:

• Parents and the clinician compare severity ratings (clinician’s severity rating is based on a clinic-based conversation with the child or a recording made during everyday life.
• Discussion of progress centered on the use and response to verbal contingencies.

The LPTG states that “Parents do not alter their customary speech pattern or speech and language habits in any way, nor do they change the family lifestyle in any way, apart from presenting verbal contingencies.” That’s not really how things play out because further on in the LPTG, parents are instructed to

• spend one-on-one time with the child once or twice a day for 10-15 minutes, ideally with a book or a game the child enjoys,
• simplify sentence structure and language complexity, and
• incorporate turn-taking.

In this study, the control group parents provide verbal contingencies during this time and the experimental group does not. They just spend time together. Playing, One-on-one. Together.

Turns out what’s left are therapy components that focus on keeping kids talking and engaged in the world around them. Sound familiar? If you know my work, you’ll know this is my mantra and I was encouraged to see this come to light although it’s not the first time.

These findings echo the findings of a study comparing RESTART-DSM (an indirect therapy) to Lidcombe (a very direct therapy (de Sonneville-Koedoot, Stolk, Rietveld, Franken, 2015). Researchers were surprised at how two very different therapies could have similar outcomes. They concluded that “the common components of

• increased one-on-one time with parents,
• the reduction of linguistic demands, and
• an increase in emotional support

were likely to have the greatest impact. In other words, verbal contingencies are not as “active” as once thought when it comes to controlling stuttering in a child. In addition, the more recent study refers to another report in which “44% of 35 parents surveyed stated that their children displayed a negative reaction to Lidcombe verbal contingencies for stuttering.” (Packman 2007 as cited in Donaghy et.al. 2020)

Lidcombe is recommended for preschoolers because this is supposedly a time when brain development and plasticity is at its peak. It’s often called “the window of opportunity” to train the brain to not stutter. While it’s true that the brain development is extremely active during these years, we must remember that this makes children even more vulnerable to planting seeds of shame and fear because the “window” has no screen. It appears that the true benefit of Lidcombe lies in environmental adjustments that can easily happen without the inherent risks of verbal contingencies. First do no harm.

References:

• de Sonneville-Koedoot, Caroline, Stolk, Elly, Rietveld, Toni, Franken, Marie-Christine, (2015). Direct versus Indirect Treatment for Preschool Children who Stutter: The RESTART Randomized Trial, PLOS ONE.
• Donaghy, Michelle, O’Brian, Sue, Onslow, Mark, Lowe, Robyn, Jones, Mark, Menzies, Ross G. (2020). Verbal Contingencies in the Lidcombe Program: A Noninferiority Trial. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1-13.
• Onslow, Mark, Webber, Margaret, Harrison, Elisabeth, Arnott, Simone, Bridgman, Kate, Carey, Brenda, Sheedy, Stacey, O’Brian, Sue, MacMillan, Verity, Lloyd, Wendy (2020) The Lidcombe Program Treatment Guide.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Lidcombe Program – What’s Left? appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

We’re tremendously proud of Aziz Grine, who recently did just that. Aziz is a past AIS client and an employee at Societe Generale. In honor of International Stuttering Awareness Day, Aziz was interviewed for a Diversity Month Newsletter about his experience with stuttering. Aziz join’s a growing group of people who have taken a stand to educate others about stuttering is a big way. For more on this, check out George’s four tips on self-disclosing workplace and 3 basic rules of self-advertising.

We have been granted permission to share Aziz’s article here. Please enjoy his amazing display of vulnerability, a wonderful and personal description of the lived experience of stuttering, and advice for listeners. 

Aziz Grine, Risk Management

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, and I’ve stuttered my whole life. Today, we know that 1% of people stutter, it is likely a result of inherited genetic abnormalities, more common among males than females, the brain regions that are responsible for speech movements are particularly affected. But back then, very little was known about stuttering, and growing up with something I couldn’t control nor understand was tough, but I held on.

At the age of 17, I moved to Paris to study. I spent two years in a preparatory program, knowing that by the end of it, I’d have to pass rigorous entrance examinations. Some of these were oral exams, which made me very anxious, especially since my stuttering had worsened. Some schools were more tolerant than others. But in the end, I got admitted to HEC Paris business school after ranking first of my section on the entrance exam.

The internship and job hunt was not an easy task either. Besides numerous rejected applications, I also had to deal with all kinds of behaviors. The most memorable one is the interview I had with a man who, at the sight of my struggle, laughed hysterically and could not stop, so we had to end the interview. Today, when I think about this event, I’m fully aware that I wasn’t the problem. But it took me time to get to this conclusion.

Luckily, I also met people with a strong emotional intelligence who focused on my strengths. I completed two long internships in project finance then equity derivatives trading at Ixis (now Natixis) in Paris, before joining Societe Generale in 2006. Within SG, I started at Lyxor then joined RISQ in Paris, London and now New York.

I also co-founded a renewable energy company and took a year-long sabbatical to focus on it before a large French energy group acquired it. I met my wife in Paris, and our son was born last year.

What impact has your disability on your current job? 

I’m in a client-facing role and am on the phone a lot, which can be “draining.” As a person who stutters, it takes me a lot of energy and focus to manage the process of speaking. I also find myself stuttering more when I’m tired, so making sure that I sleep well, eat healthily and exercise regularly is essential. Obviously, that’s easier said than done when you have a 16-month toddler at home and have to adjust to the new work environment!

I’m also very grateful to colleagues and clients I work with, who are patient and understanding. Help from professionals in the field always makes a big difference, in my case, the American Institute for Stuttering (AIS) was instrumental in my journey.

For someone reading who is hoping to take a first step towards being more open about their disability, what advice would you give them?

It’s a little bit different in my case. I stutter, and I can’t hide it, so I have to own it. I learned to accept that words come at a premium for me. But to people who have a disability and are a little hesitant to talk about it, I say just try. I’m often amazed by how kind people are when I tell them I have a speech impairment.

Scientists estimate the odds of one being born to one in 400 trillion, which is less likely than winning a lottery twice in a row. We’re all extraordinarily lucky to be here but life is a gamble and sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Some may think having a disability is a loss, but I don’t think that’s true. A disability is part of you and makes you who you are. In my case, it gave me compassion, tolerance, strength, persistence and courage. If I had the choice today to start my life again without my stuttering, the decision wouldn’t be that obvious. Now, I won’t lie. If I had the choice to stop my stuttering tomorrow, I probably would! I could finally start my career in politics (just kidding). I know my life would be a lot easier if I could speak freely. But I also know for a fact that a lot of things I am proud of today are somehow linked to my stuttering.

Being disabled isn’t a choice, but we can choose how to live it and experience it. I think self-acceptance is challenging, but it’s also the best option.

What would you like allies to know? 

People often ask me what they should do when I’m stuttering. They often wonder if they should “help me” by finishing my sentences or if they should interrupt me to let me know they “know what I mean.” Listen, maintain eye contact; don’t interrupt and respond. These are simple tips I give when asked, but I never get offended as long as it comes from a good place.

Many people also assume that stuttering is stressful for me. To be honest, it used to be, but it is not anymore. However, it does require a lot of concentration, so I need to prepare things in advance, and I’m not a great multitasker. My wife always complains about it!

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Can People Educate Their Workplace About Stuttering? appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

The post Stuttering As A Contribution To Diversity appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

We were excited to catch up with Marc, and ask him some questions about his inspiration, how he develops content, and how he finds meaning in his own experience with stuttering.

Take 5 with Marc Winski

1) Tell us about yourself and your stuttering journey.

I love to talk about my stuttering journey because it has helped transformed me into the person that I am today.

I’m going to try my best to keep this short and sweet. I grew up as a person who stutters and went through some decent speech therapy. Although I was a confident and expressive kid with a good outlook on stuttering not holding me back, I still suppressed A LOT of feelings about how I truly felt about stuttering. I would still change feared words and try to avoid the moments of stuttering like the plague….I HATED to stutter!!.. but I never told anybody that.

Jump to 2010…I found AIS and was told:

“Marc, you don’t have to avoid….you can say the exact words you want to say……” 

THAT WAS HUGE!!!!! Then, after that, I, well, I never changed a word ever again…..Did it take mindful practice? Yes! (And it still does), but it’s now something I’m very proud of and it’s the cornerstone to my platform.

2) In a relatively short amount of time, you’ve grown a large following on TikTok (about 20,000 followers and counting!). What was your motivation for using the platform for stuttering awareness?

I’m absolutely blown away by all of the support. As an actor and a creator, I knew I wanted to create major change for the Stuttering Community. I was tired of seeing the same old “overcome” narrative.

I wanted to spread REAL and TRUTHFUL facts, stories, and experiences from my life and also from my Stamily (Stuttering Family :)).  This is bigger than just me and I’m honored to have this platform. My passion for being there for my community really continues to drive me further and further.

3) What has the response been to your videos, both personally and from other users on TikTok?

The response has been so enlightening. I’m receiving comments from many people ranging from “I had no idea about this.” to “I stutter too and have always felt so alone on this journey. Thank you for putting yourself on screen so me and my son can see stuttering in a true light.” And everywhere in between. Many are loving the comic/satiric spin that I sometimes put into the work because sometimes you just need a good laugh. I try to put a lot of my own truth out there and also a collective truth from tens of thousands of other stutterers that I have had the pleasure of meeting. I’m blown away!

4) How do you hope to grow your platform to reach more people? 

My list of things I want to create is through the roof and I’m excited to grow the brand and the platform to major heights. Again, it’s NEEDED as a source of information and joy for me and the stuttering community, and it can be seen by EVERYONE.  I’m excited to continue as a guest speaker in schools, universities, and corporate offices to spread solid awareness and also show others that this community is strong, passionate, and has a voice that needs to be heard. There’s a lot that can be learned from a person who stutters. We go through so many strength building scenarios EVERY DAY, and the stories I have and have heard from others need to be told. There’s a lot of inspiration and life!

5) For someone reading who is hoping to take a first step towards being more open about their stuttering, what advice do you think you might give them?

Just try it…… Post anything. Post one of my videos, post a comment, post a status or a tweet about something cool that happened throughout your day. Use the hashtags #istutter or #Stamily.  Social media is the easiest way to casually advertise stuttering. Keep it simple. However you want to.

 I remember my first social media post EVER about stuttering happened during my intensive program at AIS.

“What an amazing day!!!! I have never been so happy about my stutter…tired and fatigued…but excited” (2010)

Want to try it? Scared? Nervous? THAT’S OK!! Feel the fear and do it anyway…. You got this!!! GO FOR IT!

Check out more of Marc’s content on his TikTok page.

Marc Winski is an actor/singer/Stuttering Awareness Guy in NYC and a person who stutters.  Some of his credits include National Tours: Grease, Hairspray, and a Mainstage Performer with Disney Cruise Lines. As a member of the stuttering community, he is currently striving to give a voice and be an advocate for people who stutter in social media/theatre/film/media/television.  He recently appeared on an episode of “What Would You Do?” on ABC , where he portrayed a waiter who stutters. He leads an improv workshop for people who stutter and he hopes to give many more opportunities to show stuttering in the arts.  Live your unique truth.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Stuttering and Social Media: An Interview with Rising TikTok Star Marc Winski appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

What was the experience of talking to Joe Biden and Emily Blunt like for you?

Obviously, the two of them are famous, and I am not, so it felt a little funny to see all of our names on the same line. I appreciated how the conversation was focused on advice for young stutterers, since all three of us had different challenges growing up, but we share the universal experience of being people who stutter. They each had keen insight into what it’s like to live with this disorder.

What is something you learned from the conversation?

I really liked how Emily spoke of certain present-day challenges as a person who stutters, such as delivering certain types of lines in movies. I think people misunderstand how difficult and nuanced acting is, and the amount of energy it takes. To see a successful actress like Emily admit that, yeah, it’s still hard, even at her level, is a really positive message.

Looking back 5 years, would you ever have expected this experience to occur?

I would not have expected this experience even one year ago. This time last year, I was preparing to interview Vice President Biden for my Atlantic story, but I was still several weeks away from even sitting down to write the first draft. I had never really written anything for public consumption about stuttering. I never expected the piece to take off the way it did, nor did I know much about this worldwide community of people who stutter. I’ve met so many amazing people from all walks of life over the past year. I don’t take it for granted.

What personal choices did you make that led you down that path?

Writing my Biden story last year changed everything for me, personally and professionally, not least because my piece carried with it several risks. For starters, I was challenging one of the most famous people in the world about his framing of a very sensitive, difficult topic. That’s a risky endeavor. I was also challenging myself to admit certain hard truths and emotions I’ve long suppressed. After the story was published, I faced the challenge of public speaking opportunities, something I have avoided my entire life. At no point was any of this easy, but it all helped me grow as a person.

What are you most proud of as you reflect on your journey and how far you’ve come?

More than anything, I’m so grateful to have met hundreds of other people who stutter over the past year. The conversations I’ve had — over person, over the phone, over Zoom, over email — have been some of the most meaningful of my life. The stuttering community is one of strength, of grit, of character, and I’m proud to be a member of it.

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To watch John’s conversation with Emily Blunt and the former Vice President, click here or watch the video below:

To watch the entire virtual gala, including Vice President Joe Biden, Emily Blunt, Eric Dinallo, Arthur Blank, Wayne Brady, Clarence Page, Austin Pendleton and more, click here.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post Reflections From Honoree John Hendrickson appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.

Tell us about yourself and why you decided to do the presentation:

My name is Leah Graham. I am from Mount Holly, NC but currently live in Charlotte, NC. I am a person who stutters and I work in the Human Services field as a Social Worker in Childcare Subsidy. I am also the Charlotte Adult Chapter Leader for the National Stuttering Association. I really wanted to do something special for National Stuttering Awareness Week. Last year for National Stuttering Awareness week I posted a rejection letter to Facebook from a company that stated the reason they did not hire me was because the position required “talking on the phone”.  I remember posting, “I can talk on the phone, I can talk on the phone, I can talk on the damn phone”. In contrast, this year, I decided to do a presentation to my current company on stuttering and stuttering in the workplace. Initially, it was supposed to be in person, but COVID-19 had other plans.

How did you set up the presentation and get everyone to commit and attend?

To set up the presentation, I sent a letter to my supervisor, who was totally on board. She even suggested I send an invitation to Vice-President Joe Biden (that is how awesome she is). I invited my entire department to a Zoom meeting. My wife (the queen of presentations) helped me give my presentation some focus and after a run through decided it needed more vulnerability (like isn’t stuttering vulnerable enough?!). Nevertheless, she was right. Offering a greater sense of vulnerability to my presentation really helped me connect with the audience and vice versa.

Share with us the main ideas of the presentation, and how it felt to give the presentation:

We tackled myths about stuttering through a really interactive True/False segment. A co-worker even divulged that she stutters too! We talked about employability for people who stutter and the interpersonal skills people who stutter possess. Everyone was engaged. I remember feeling like something was in my eyes, others may have called it tears, but whatever. I was in a space of complete gratitude and affirmation.  I got some excellent and really profound feedback from my team and my superiors.

Leah presenting at work

If you enjoyed this post, check out Jacquelyn Joyce Revere’s post on sharing her therapy sessions on social media, Dylan Levin’s post on why he chose to stop hiding stuttering at work, and George Daquila’s post on how to self-advocate stuttering in the workplace.

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The American Institute for Stuttering is a leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

The post What It’s Like to Give A Presentation About Stuttering At Work appeared first on American Institute for Stuttering.