Hi all! I am a second-year graduate speech pathology student and would love to get some advice on how we may helpb best support who stutter! What might be beneficial for a future SLP to know?
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Hi Maddi, It’s great that you’re thinking about how to support the best people who experience stuttering. One important concept to keep in mind is that stuttering is not a “defect” or something that necessarily needs to be “fixed.” Instead, it’s a form of verbal diversity. Viewing it through this lens can help you as an SLP encourage a more inclusive, person-centered approach.
Educating the general public is a crucial area where you can make a significant impact. Research, like the study by St. Louis et al. (2017), shows that many people need more understanding about stuttering, leading to negative attitudes or misconceptions. By fostering awareness in communities, we can shift the focus from trying to “correct” speech to embracing diverse ways of communicating. This can also help reduce the stigma associated with stuttering.
It’s also important to advocate for and implement programs that work with children and teachers or educators. For some ideas, please familiarize yourself with the chapter by Weidner & S. Louis (the book “Dialogue without Barriers,” available in open access). Projects that aim to educate teachers, as well as students, about how stuttering can lead to more supportive environments in schools. Early intervention in the form of awareness-raising activities can foster empathy, reduce bullying, and build confidence in children who stutter.
From a clinical perspective, building your knowledge of how individuals who stutter would like to be supported is crucial. For example, many people who stutter prefer listeners to maintain eye contact, be patient, and not finish their sentences for them. Having these conversations with your clients to understand their preferences is vital.
Additionally, consider that every person who stutters is unique in how they experience and approach their stuttering. Some may want to reduce the frequency and severity of stuttering, while others may prioritize building communication confidence or self-advocacy. Being flexible and tailoring your approach based on the individual’s goals and feelings toward their stutter will make a significant difference.
Ultimately, your role as an SLP is more than just to help someone manage their stuttering. You can empower them to communicate more freely and interact successfully with the world around them. I hope I helped. Warmly, Katarzyna Węsierska
Hi Maddie,
It’s so lovely to hear that you’re wanting to best support people who stutter – this curiosity is so so important in our future therapists!
In addition to all the advice from Katarzyna, my biggest learning about how best to support people who stutter has come from people who stutter themselves. Being a part of the stuttering community, going along to events, to conferences, volunteering to help out, etc has all fuelled me and made me strive to do my best. This has involved doing things differently from what I’d be taught too. I like to listen to the voices within the community, to my friends who stutter and of course, to my clients. I ask clients which aspects of therapy have or haven’t been helpful and why. This enables me to reflect and adapt. I am constantly learning. We have a panel of people who stutter too – you may have done this already, I haven’t checked, but I’d love them to answer this question too!