 About the Author:
Wanchung Huang is a stutterer with a curious mind. She writes a blog《中途筆記》and hosts a Podcast about stuttering, introverts in the workspace and book reviews. She is a cloud computing specialist based in Sydney. |
I would like to submit a video about the uniqueness of stuttering experiences and urging respect with diversity and inclusion.
Wanchung,
A very well thought out speech. Did you know that our mindset about stuttering might be due to our genetic differences as well as our unique experiences in life?
The one thing I suggest for everyone is to investigate what other people’s take on the definition of what stuttering is. I consider stuttering having two main elements in it: 1) the most important is the cognitive/emotive aspect and the second one the disfluencies (see my, Gunars Neiders, Facebook page picture of stuttering iceberg).
Keep on accepting yourself and your stutter unconditionally.
Hi Gunars,
Thanks for sharing!.
Hi Wanchung. I so enjoyed hearing about your journey towards self-acceptance. I have a 27-year-old son who stutters and am an author and parent advocate. My mission as become to help parents understand the risks of focusing on fluency and to embrace an approach to intervention focused on avoidance reduction and acceptance. It’s not easy as parents do not want their children to be confronted with challenges (more imagined than real I found). Do you have any advice for a parent of a three-year old who is stuttering that can guide them towards intervention focused on acceptance and avoidance reduction? Thank you for submitting – very powerful words.
Hi dorilenzholt,
Thanks for the comment, and great to know you are a parent advocate!
How about reading some picture books together? There are many wonderful picture books about stuttering, such as “A Boy and a Jaguar,” “I Talk Like a River,” “Brayden Speaks Up,” “Santa Stutters, Too!” and “Steggie’s Stutter,” among others. While I understand that three-year-olds might be too young to actively discuss the issue, they can begin to understand these concepts.
Thanks
Hello Wanchung,
I really enjoyed your video and learning about your experiences. I am a graduate student learning to be a speech language pathologist. You mentioned visiting a psychiatrist but were you ever seen by an SLP? If so, what was your experience with this?
As I enter the field, my goal is to promote self-acceptance through inclusion and diversity of each individual, like you mentioned. What are some things I could incorporate into therapy to help promote self-acceptance? What are some of the most challenging interactions for you and what helps you to remain positive and with a high level of self-esteem in these uncomfortable situations?
It is important to me as a future SLP to ensure my future clients feel comfortable. I do not want to push anyone to accept themselves, as this is part of a personal journey. However, I would love to help encourage individuals during this time of self-discovery.
Thank you!
Hi corrielabelle,
Thank you for your message, and I appreciate your enthusiasm!
Yes, I did visit various speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and some of them encouraged me to work on self-acceptance. However, at that time, I found certain situations to be quite challenging, such as watching my video clips. Now, I no longer struggle with this issue, but it did take time:)
I would recommend providing role models to your patients, individuals who have faced similar challenges like stuttering but have excelled in their respective fields. This can be incredibly beneficial for promoting self-acceptance.
I hope this advice is helpful!
Hi Wanchung,
I really appreciated your video and learning about your experiences as a person who stutters. I am a graduate student learning to be a speech-language pathologist. I thought it was interesting for you to use music as you communicated in your workplace and use the musical beats to facilitate ease in communicating with your co-workers. I also appreciated how you focused on self-acceptance through diversity and inclusion because, as SLPs, one of our values is advocacy and support for our clients. I think one challenging component of therapy is tailoring fluency treatment goals based on the client’s needs; however, I hope to ensure that my future clients will be comfortable and motivated to work with me.
Thank you,
Mike Ramirez
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your kind message. I’m delighted that you found my video insightful.
It’s wonderful that you’re pursuing a career in speech-language pathology.
Best of luck on your journey.
Wanchung
Hi Wanchung,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I agree with you! Everyone is different, and respecting others’ points of view and perspectives about stuttering is very important. What works for one person doesn´t necessarily work for another.
I enjoy listening to your journey and the things you tried before you reached the point of acceptance.
I wonder if finding a community was relevant to your journey or what was most helpful for you.
– Cynthia
Hi Cynthia,
You are absolutely right; finding a community is indeed very helpful. As social beings, we all have the need to be seen and heard, and being part of a group makes us stronger.
In fact, I have a podcast where I occasionally interview people who stutter but continue to thrive in their pursuit of goals and ambitions. Both my audience and I have found these interviews to be incredibly inspiring.
I hope it helps.
Hi Wanchung,
Thank you for sharing your experience. In the very beginning of your video you mentioned that there are people who have allergies are unique. Just as allergies are unique as to what it could be and how they react to certain allergens to that individual a stutter is also unique in its same form. The story you shared to your self-acceptance to your stutter. You mentioned managing your anxiety helped with self-acceptance for you. As stuttering is different for everyone and their anxiety around their stutter may be different I am wondering if you would have any tips for individuals in finding what is most comfortable for them in their self-acceptance journey. Throughout your personal story you showed strong motivation towards self-acceptance and celebrating an individual’s uniquenesses.
Hi odemi,
Thanks for watching!
To find comfort in this journey, connect with support groups, or other stuttering individuals!
They will celebrate your achievements and you will gradually become less focused on the stuttering.
Stuttering is just one part of who you are. Keep embracing your uniqueness.
Best regards,
Dear Wanchung
It was interesting to hear you talk in your video. Did you consider that you were fluent?
I only noticed a couple of slight stutters. Would you stutter more in a different situation?
I like Sheehan’s approach to stuttering and his view that no avoidance (accaptance) leads to no stuttering. Maybe this is what happens with you? Were you speaking spontaneously, rather than trying not to stutter?
Best wishes
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thank you for watching.
My experiences with stuttering can vary. The extent of my stuttering often depends on various factors such as the topic of discussion, the audience, and even my current mood.
Professor Christopher Constantino once conveyed in his TED Talk that, “Ironically, I don’t stutter much when I talk about stuttering.” I can relate to this in my own experiences. When discussing stuttering, I tend to experience fewer stutters.
Best Wishes,
Hi Wanchung
Very interesting. You are much like me – and I suspect many others!
Cheerio
Tim
Hi Wanchung,
Thank you for your video. I’m wondering if you think (in your experience) that people who choose the path with an emphasis on fluency are happy with that, or do you think that self-acceptance is the best path, and that people just need to get to the path of self-acceptance in different ways? Or maybe a little bit of both. I also wondered, if you speak another language, do you feel like you stutter more in a certain language? Or is it pretty consistent across the board. What is that experience like? Thanks!
Liz Read.
Hi Liz,
Thank you for watching my video
In my experience, I’ve found that self-acceptance is a crucial aspect of dealing with stuttering. While fluency is important and can certainly improve communication, striving for perfect fluency isn’t always realistic, and it can lead to frustration and anxiety. Accepting oneself and working on effective communication methods can be a more sustainable approach.
Regarding stuttering in different languages, it varies from person to person. Personally, I stutter in all the languages I speak.
I hope this answers your questions.
Dear Wanchung,
I really loved your explanation of how stuttering is different for everyone just like food allergies. This is something I think alot of people don’t realize. I enjoyed listening to your explanations on how everyone is different and everyone is on their own journey. What works for one person may not work for another and that’s okay!
Thank you so much for sharing your personal journey of self-acceptance. It was very inspiring.
Hi kendallsower,
I appreciate your kind words!
Thank you for your support and for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Warm regards,
Wanchung, I enjoyed listening to your video about your stuttering and what has helped you be the most successful. I love the comparison you did of stuttering compared to weight loss for someone or their food allergies. Everyone is different and everyone who stutters, stutters differently. I think it is great. I am currently in my second year of graduate school to become a speech language pathologist. I really want to be an advocate for my client and really push for self acceptance for each of them. I do have one question, did you every receive speech therapy? If so how did it effect you? Or did you not feel it was necessary?
Thanks again for the great video.
Hi Alexisburke,
Thanks for watching.
Yes, I did visit various speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and some of them encouraged me to work on self-acceptance.
However, at that time, I found certain situations to be quite challenging, such as watching my video clips. Now, I no longer struggle with this issue, but it did take time:)
Cheers
Hi Wanchung! Thank you for sharing your experience on stuttering. I liked how you gave an analogy at the beginning of your submission on how stuttering is like allergies. Some people may experience worse symptoms than people who develop rashes, etc. That is very similar to stuttering, as PWS, do not stutter the same and do not all have the same reasons behind their stutter. Everyone is unique in their own way and everyone speaks differently.Your words were inspiring to me as a future speech-language pathologist.Thank you for sharing!