Folks have been braving the Vermont weather to come to groups, and the conversations have been fantastic!

We’ve had one of our school-age members present her science fair project about stigma and people’s perception of people who stutter. Our “Amigos” have come to group right after working with graduate students in Co-Leader Barry Guitar’s class, so our “young at heart” groups have been huge!

Topics have included the new stuttering documentary, whether memorizing information makes it easier to present under pressure, how singing and vocal pitch can change fluency, people’s unusual reactions when you have trouble saying your name, and how stuttering affects speaking with authority (when pulled over by the police).

One new member shared a memorable story — after he revealed he was a person who stutters to a fellow classmate, the peer said, “if you’re an adult in college and you can’t handle a stutter, just get out.”  Maybe a sign that times seem to be changing in terms of acceptance of stuttering- it just is what it is!

We’ve had a lot of new faces, including parents, kiddos and UVM graduate students who are eager to support Team Stuttering — let’s keep this energy going and all are welcome! Go Team!

It was great to catch up with everyone last night after the holiday break!

We talked about fireworks, politics, and movies among other things for a relaxing meeting.

Fun news is that we now have three copies of Katherine Preston’s book (Out With It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice) to allow our members to borrow.

Let us know if you want a copy and you can feel free to sign one out at our next meeting — Go Team!

Here’s another terrific story in this month’s KidsVT by Kyme, a local journalist who stutters, about teens who stutter and our support groups. Go Team Stuttering!

Check it out here:  More Than Words: Stuttering Students Turn to Support Groups

Happy December!

We had a fun group last night, with casual conversation about Star Wars and a new guest!

One discussion revolved around whether people prefer being referred to as a “person who stutters” or a “stutterer.” Some folks found it tricky to be labeled either way, and we talked about possibly coming up with a new term that is a little less clinical. One member joked that the abbreviation for “person who stutters” (PWS) sounds like a disease of some kind.

Friendly reminder in this season of giving that you can donate to our Memorial Fund in honor of Gaetan De La Bruere, which supports outreach about stuttering around Vermont. You can also consider making a donation to the National Stuttering Association (NSA) office, which oversees all of the free support groups.

Thanks from Team Stuttering!

Thanks, Kyme, for another stellar article to help share the stories of people who stutter around Vermont!

Check it out here!