 About the Author:
My name is Catalina Valer García, I am a Speech – Language Pathologist and I live in Lima, Peru. I studied Special Education at the Women’s University of the Sacred Heart in Lima, almost 31 years ago, with the specialty of “Disturbances in Communication”. Later I studied a Master’s Degree in Speech Therapy with a mention in Oral Motor, Voice and Stuttering, and I have made national and international presentations in relation to research carried out around stuttering. Currently almost 100% of my students have stuttering and I enjoy working with them.
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I’m really glad to participate in the ISAD 2026 online conference and share my thoughts on the different shades of stuttering.
In my experience as an SLP and regarding the care of children who stutter, I think that early detection and treatment is the best thing we can do. I’ve had many cases of children who, after receiving a timely diagnosis and then going through an adequate period of therapy, were able to break the stuttering speech pattern and recover spontaneous fluency, and that is very hopeful for the family.
Regarding young people and adults who stutter, I think they have the freedom to choose whether they want to undergo Stuttering Therapy or not. If they do want to, that’s great because you can always practice, you can always learn. They can learn techniques that allow them to communicate with more confidence, more smoothly, and I also think it’s necessary to work on acceptance and to join Support Groups, meet more young people who also get stuck when speaking but keep moving forward with their goals.
It might seem like stuttering is a disadvantage, but it’s not. When there are difficulties, you become stronger. I believe stuttering helps teenagers, young people, and adults develop courage, patience, teaches you to make an effort, to be more understanding and tolerant with the people around you. But it’s important that you have a GOAL in life, that you have a target, that you find your purpose, that you discover: What do you like to do? What task are you good at and can do well? Because when you find the goal of your life, nothing can stop you. You will move forward even if you have a stutter or other difficulties in your life. That’s why I believe that ‘ All paths help for good,’ and in the end, you will be able to help other people who are going through the same thing. So there’s no way to lose—you will always win.
Come on, keep going, keep moving forward.
A picture with my students celebrating mid-year vacation
 A memory with my students celebrating at Christmas |
 A nice picture with my little student playing and practicing in his therapy session |
 A picnic day with the guys from the Support Group |
Hi Catalina! I love how you highlight the positive aspects of being a person who stutters, such as the empathy and strength you can develop and how that can be used to help others. I was wondering how you might help your students find their goal and purpose. After determining their goals and aspirations, do you include that information in your therapy? Thank you!
Hi, thank you very much for your comment. I believe that to find our goal or purpose in life, we must be aware that we are on this earth to do ‘good deeds’ and also that we live a limited time of life. On the other hand, there are 3 questions that could give us direction: 1. What do I enjoy doing? Finding our passion to develop our potential. 2. What am I good at? In which things do I stand out and achieve results. 3. What do others value about me? That is, what do other people recognize that I do well or that comes out well. And indeed, all that information allows me to know my patient better and use it in therapy. For example: I have several young people whom I currently attend to, and they are studying at the university, and in some of the sessions, we read about a notable character in their field or
read and talk about a topic that interests them in their profession so the learning is more meaningful.
Greetings
Catalina Valer