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!