Ten members joined up after Stuttering class to have a special joint session with the NSA – Duluth (Minnesota) Chapter via Google Hangout!
For the first part of group, there was an animated discussion about how people who stutter imagine listeners evaluating them negatively when stuttering but also realize this may not be the way they evaluate us in reality. One member talked a lot about how when he plays sports and another athlete hears him stutter, he feels that other athletes judge him poorly for the stuttering, as though he is not as personally strong as he might be. Another member countered that he is actually stronger personally because he is dealing with a stutter which the other athlete is not.
Half way through, we connected to the Duluth group with two laptops at the end of the room angled so that Duluth could see everyone in our group. A great discussion and sharing ensued and we discussed the athlete topic with them. We said we would love to reconnect with them again in April, so stay tuned! See you for next group on the 17th!