Solid group of 8 tonight!
We started by talking about how one member now has OnStar in his car, and he’s wondering how the voice activated system might be affected because of his stuttering. We discussed how in an emergency when under stress, it might be hard to communicate in the way the machine needs to signal for help if there is a lot of stuttering.
One member talked about his trip to the Vermont sock sale, and he noticed that he and the bouncer at the door use the same manual clicker to count people that he uses to count fluency strategies (like “downshifts” and “pre-downshifts” to ease out and into stutters). The member sets a personal goal for how many strategies to use each day, and the clicker reminds him to turn them on– great idea!
Another member talked about how his speech was really rough after a water line in his apartment building burst and displaced everyone who lives there, while also trying to study for the GREs! Seemed like his fluency was stabilizing a bit, but we talked about how stresses like that can wreak havoc on stuttering…
We also talked about a project that a school-age kiddo who stutters at the clinic has taken on to try to convince the managers of two fast-food restaurants to put a sign at the drive thru, which as one member said, “is a known death trap for stutterers.” The sign would give the option for people who stutter, who are hard of hearing, or prefer to order in person to pull up to the window to order instead. She would also give the manager training about how the employees should respond if someone who stutters is getting stuck. Love the initiative she is taking!
The group wondered how much resistance she’d get from the restaurants since they are chains with a lot of legal hoops to jump through. One man remembered seeing a similar sign at a fast food place in Middlebury, and he thought it was a good idea. Maybe peer pressure will help her get her idea put into action, and people who stutter who want to order using the intercom should still do so!
Otherwise, we’re all geared up for the holiday break– Happy Thanksgiving and see you Dec. 2nd!