Stuttering Is My Superpower – Vaishnavi Ranjana

Vaishnavi RanjanaAbout the Author:

My name is Vaishnavi Ranjana. I am originally from India but currently reside in Berlin, Germany. I am a person who stutters since I can remember. I am a lawyer and researcher and recently I completed my Ph.D. in law. I have also taught for 2 years at a University in India and practiced in the Supreme Court of India for 3 years. Talking about stuttering and supporting People Who Stutter is a passion that I have. I love to talk!!

The theme for this year is “One Size does not fit all” and rightly so. This year’s theme is thoughtful and intriguing at the same time and I would like to share my lived experiences that everyone’s stutter is different and how I changed my lived experience with stuttering from being a ‘disability’ to being a ‘superpower’ now. As I started to accept my stuttering, I began to view it as a “superpower” instead of something that was holding me back coupled with the feeling of guilt and shame that I had with it.

Some people who wanted to fix my stutter asked me to visit speech therapists (which I did for 3 days). A weird person asked me to put pebbles in my mouth and speak. Thank God I didn’t listen to him otherwise I would have died!

Growing up in India where society does not accept your stutter, I was continuously asked to visit the speech therapists and do something about my “broken speech” and get “some help”. By profession, I wanted to teach and be a public speaker but the voices near me told me “No, that’s not for you, Why don’t you choose a job that involves no speaking?”. But I have a stubborn mind, a by-product of my stutter, and if I make so many efforts to get one word across, why would I give up on a dream constantly cultivating within me? At that point in time, I had no contact with the stuttering community but I pep-talked myself that I am not going to be guided by what people tell me about my stutter but rather do what I love to do. 

A little flashback to 2015 when I was interviewed for a job as an Assistant Professor in Law. As a part of the interview, I was asked to deliver a lecture on a prepared topic of law. Obviously, I stuttered but still managed to deliver this lecture. At the end of the interview, I was asked by the panel, “Madam, you stutter? How will you speak in a class of 50 students and deal with their questions? I had tears in my eyes, my secret was disclosed. I told the panel, yes, “I do stutter, and one day, I will be a good orator”. Guess what? I got that job!!! My first public speaking job. 

The reason for narrating this story is simple: One size does not fit all. For me, the acceptance of my stutter was a game changer but for some others, it was speech therapy. If I had heard the voices behind me, telling me to “fix myself” by putting stones in my mouth or singing and talking, I would have never been able to do what I love doing. As soon as I accepted my stutter, magic happened. 

Coming to 2020, when the world closed down, I was really unhappy with my stammer and did something about it. I started joining support groups on Facebook and Reddit where I met and came in contact with amazing people who stutter and that made me feel “normal” that I am not the only one in this world with a stutter. There are people like me who are stammering and doing amazing things in their life.

I say stuttering is my superpower: one, it keeps me grounded and my speech lets me know about the danger (in speaking to a person in higher authority, presentation) that I face and also gives me a community of friends and support groups that I never thought I would have. 

I have been to the speech therapist for 3 days when I understood that this would not work for me in the outside world. It may work for some PWS but for me what has really worked is acceptance and disclosing my stammer to the new people I meet. 

Stuttering has made me resilient, headstrong (to some extent stubborn :D), empathetic, and a never giving up mentality which I could have never had as a “normal speaker”. Therefore, I consider it as my superpower.

I recently finished my Ph.D. in Law after 6+ years of hard work, sweat, and tears. I would owe my Ph.D. to my stutter for making me headstrong, and resilient in achieving what I really wanted to do. I really hope that someone reading this would not give up on your dreams to do whatever you would like to do because of your stutter and believe in yourself. 

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Comments

Stuttering Is My Superpower – Vaishnavi Ranjana — 81 Comments

  1. Hi Vaishnavi!

    I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with your stutter. It is a true testament to how reaching acceptance with your stutter can truly be life-changing – no matter how that acceptance may look. Like one’s stutter, coming to and reaching the point of acceptance is unique to each person who is experiencing it. Thank you for sharing your experiences, and congratulations on your Ph.D.! Best of luck to you in your future endeavors. 🙂

  2. Dear Vaishnavi,

    You wrote “I have been to the speech therapist for 3 days when I understood that this would not work for me in the outside world. It may work for some PWS but for me what has really worked is acceptance and disclosing my stammer to the new people I meet.”

    Was your speech therapist a holistic one that worked on your mindset about disfluencies or only on the disfluencies?

    I cannot imagine therapy of stuttering where there is homework whose centerpiece would not include unconditional self- and stuttering acceptance and some form of disclosure or desensitization toward disfluencies.

    • Hello, thank you for your comment. I went to a speech therapist and she never worked on my mindset part, maybe telling me that “Stuttering is okay”, but she worked on making me breathe deeper, meditating, slowly speaking which does not work outside the four corners of a room. I just wish future therapists try to include the acceptance into their agenda rather than just “curing” me from my stammer. Great that you seem to understand it really well. All the best and thank you again!!

    • Hey, my speech therapist was focussing on my breath and trying to calm me down instead of focussing on my demeaning mindset of my stammering. I went to the speech therapist with the hope of fixing my stammer and she tried to fix me as well, as if something was wrong with the way I was breathing! Thank you so much for your question!

  3. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for sharing your story and experiences with stuttering. Many gain the perspective that individuals who stutter need to fix their stuttering because it is not within the norms of society. However, I believe that we are all born unique. Your strength, willpower, and resilience not only roots us to be humble and compassionate but empowers us to reach our full potential and dreams. Congratulations on earning your Ph.D., and good luck with what’s in store for you!

    • Hello Bianca, yes being fluent is boring. Stuttering has given me such qualities that I could never think of as a “normal speaker” like empathy, resilience, and being grounded. I just feel that the world should understand more of this and not try to fix me (which I won’t let them do now :P). Have an amazing day!!

  4. Hi Vaishnavi, I am an SLP graduate student and I am currently in a stuttering class. Reading about your personal experiences with stuttering gave me better insight on how stuttering can be used as a “superpower”. This is something that I can tell my clients and a way for them to look at their stutter in a more positive light. “One size does not fit all” is a great point because as a future speech therapist I have to keep this in mind for my clients. Each client needs to get an individualized plan of treatment. You also mentioned how speech therapy might work for some PWS but for you it was the acceptance of your stutter. This was inspiring to me that you were able to accept your stutter and use it as a “superpower”. I believe that therapy needs to involve stuttering acceptance and self-advocacy for those who want to go to speech therapy. Thank you for sharing your story!

    • Hey there,

      Thank you for your comment. Yes I agree that the therapy needs to involve stuttering acceptance rather than fixing it. Thats what has worked for me at least, not trying to prove to anyone that I am fluent but just being my authentic self. Why is so much stigma with stuttering? Why cant I just be myself? Why cant I be different? Its the world that needs to be fixed, not ME. It took me long time to realize this but I am glad I did 🙂 all the best for your classes 🙂

  5. Hi!
    I loved hearing your insight on going to see a SLP and how you thought that was not a great fit for you. I am a SLP graduate student in a fluency class right now. This causes my mind to become bias in certain situations. However, reading your story has allowed me to take step back as a SLP and look at this from your perspective. I would not want to go see a SLP if they were asking me to do crazy things as well or if I thought that their help would not carry over into the real world! I did have a couple of questions about your “superpower”! How old were you when you began to stutter? Who recommended you to go see a SLP? Thank you so much for sharing your empowering and motivating story with us!

    • Hello, I started stuttering at the age of 6-7 (as long as I remember). I was recommended to go to see a SLP, by near relatives and family members who wanted me “to do” something about my stammer. Thanks for your question.

  6. Vaishnavi, I love how you speak about your stutter being your “superpower.” As a future SLP, I loved hearing your story and learning about how your acceptance of your stutter benefitted you more than actual speech therapy. I totally agree that acceptance needs to be included into speech therapy to help patients be more successful. Hearing your story will definitely benefit me when working with my stuttering patients in the future. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

  7. Vaishnavi,
    Thanks for sharing your inspiring story! I am amazed at your strength and fortitude. You state that your stutter helps to keep you grounded. Are there specific techniques that you have found that help you stay grounded in moments of stuttering? If you could help youth turn their stuttering into their “superpower”, what would be some strategies you would encourage? I love your attitude and want to be able to instill the love of self in others as you have demonstrated here.
    Thanks again for sharing,
    Rebecca

    • Hello Rebecca,
      Thanks for your question. I think what has worked for me is the pep talk that I do with myself in my moments of stuttering. Earlier, it was like “oh shit, this person knows now I cant speak well”, which has changed to “Yes, I stutter so WHAT? and I am MORE than the fluency of my speech”. This mindset shift has practically helped me a lot.

      If I could help the youth to turn stuttering into their superpower, I would love to encourage the acceptance of stuttering as something normal, or just a different way of speaking. We are always told that stuttering is WRONG and fluency is RIGHT. Just changing these notions in the Youth will itself help the Youth to see stuttering as their superpower!!! Thank you for your insightful question!

  8. “If I make so many efforts to get one word across, why would I give up on a dream constantly cultivating within me?” That’s a fantastic way of thinking and I loved reading this. You are very inspirational. Congratulations on all your well-earned success.

  9. Vaishnavi,
    Thank you for sharing your experience! I am in my second year of a speech language pathology program. While you pointed out that speech therapy isn’t a fit for everyone, what are some tips you could give for SLP’s working with older students who stutter? I want to send them out with even just some of this feeling of empowerment and aid them as they enter into adulthood.

    • I guess one advice which I would give to the SLP’s working with older students who stutter is not to make stuttering evil, work around the mindset part to make it look positive and work more on the acceptance. Thanks for your question 🙂

  10. Vaishnavi,

    How you transcended so much stigma and discrimination, to seeing stuttering as your superpower, and being the voice who stands up for others in a court of law, is simply amazing. I am extremely inspired.

    Randy

  11. When you were discussing your experience of changing from thinking stuttering was a disability to a superpower, I thought about all the experiences and emotions that must go into changing a mindset or making a conscious choice at all. You mentioned that the society of India views stuttering as “broken speech” and that you were continuously asked to seek help.

    For you to realize your inner strength and to have a strong mind to tell yourself to be true to yourself, rather than listen to what other people think you should pursue, is uplifting. I also liked that you acknowledged that while accepting your stutter was a game changer for you, for others speech therapy may be the answer. It is logical that it helps others to know that one size does not fit all. This of course matches this year’s International Stuttering Conference theme..

    To me, it seems like you have found the blessings in your stutter. You cited that it made you more resilient and headstrong. I feel that it has given you a purpose to help others too. You also seem sincere that speech therapy may help others, Your story resonated with individuality.

  12. Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for sharing your story on how you discovered you superpower. I am currently in my second year of a speech language pathology program, where we are currently taking a course in fluency and really discover counseling to be a larger component in treatment. I currently have a client who stutters and rather than working to “fix” his bumpy speech we are working together towards empowerment with self advocacy and self disclosure, through the use of counseling skills. With this in mind I am wondering if you had tips for an SLP working with someone on self-disclosure, what are some things that were helpful for you as you built up your confidence with self-disclosing your stutter?

    • Hey, regarding self-disclosure, I feel it can be hard initially, as it was for me too, to just tell someone that I stutter. But the more you do it, the more it becomes your default state. Then, slowly in few years, you don’t feel the “cringe” of disclosure. I just opened up more to my family and loved ones to disclose about my stammer and started speaking straight on it and how I feel my life has been with a stammer. Being authentic has really helped me. Thank you for your question 🙂 I just followed this.

  13. Hi Vaishnavi!
    I really enjoyed your story! I love how you followed your dreams of entering a career that requires public speaking. Even though people said you had “broken speech,” you never gave up on yourself and it also helped you realize that stuttering is your “superpower.” I am sure that was a huge moment in your life and I am so glad you got to experience all of the feelings and emotions that came along with it. I am an SLP grad student and this is a story that I want to share with my clients who stutter. I want to express and encourage them to follow their dreams and allow their stuttering to become their “superpower.”

  14. Hi Vaishnavi, first, I am so glad that you did not attempt to talk with pebbles in your mouth and that you continued to push to be who you wanted to be. Stuttering did not stop you from becoming a lawyer involved in numerous public speaking events, and the amount of resilience needed to keep pushing when society pushes back is amazing to see. Stuttering truly is your superpower, and I love how you’ve chosen to see it as such.

    • Hahaha, I am glad I dint follow them to talk with pebbles in my mouth and that’s why I could write this post today 😛 Thank you!!

  15. Hi Vaishnavi,

    I appreciate your post for providing a basis of understanding to the readers by incorporating what it means to be a person who stutters while also including a cultural perspective. I am appalled by the SLP telling you to put pebbles in your mouth. I am confused about how the literature would point to this method being affective for people who stutter. I am proud of you for trusting your instincts and not going back to this SLP. My question is how do you think your mindset, awareness, and resiliency would have changed if you spoke to an SLP who supported you and guided you to have acceptance of your stutter?

    Thank you for your post,
    Tori

    • Hello Tori,

      I am sorry, maybe there is a mistake in understanding. The SLP did not ask to put pebbles in my mouth but some relatives asked me to do so. I wrote a weird person, so you might have confused it with the SLP! Sorry, that’s my fault.

      Coming to your question, I feel if I got the right SLP at that time who guided me and supported me to accept my stammer, it would have been life-changing experience. Thanks for your question 🙂

  16. Hello Vaishnavi,
    Thank you so much for sharing your story!! This was such a cool and interesting perspective to read about. I loved the tile of your paper. I think that as a future SLP, if I ever have a student/client who stutters I like for sure call it their “super power”. I think that that statement is very impowering to clients and showing themselves that they really can do anything.
    Thank you again for your post,
    Madalyn

  17. I love your perspective of viewing stuttering as your “superpower”. This is something I would love to instill in the students I work with who stutter. Your journey is very inspiring to read. As a current SLP grad student, I would love to know more about your experience with an SLP. You mentioned that you went for 3 days but then realized it would not work for you. What would have made this experience better? What type of approach were they using?
    Thank you!

    • Hello, thank you for your question. My experience would have been better if my SLP wouldn’t have tried to concentrate just on breathing techniques to improve my stutter but work on the mindset with stuttering.

  18. Hi Vaishnavi,

    I found your journey so inspiring and most of all unique! As you said, everyone is different in how they view stuttering and whether they found therapy helpful or not. For you, it’s your “superpower”, which I think is a great way to view it. It has ultimately shaped who you are as a person and it did not stop you from achieving your dreams. Despite what people told you about your stuttering when you were younger, you pushed through and created your own journey. As an SLP grad student, I hope to use your viewpoints on stuttering as a “superpower” in the future. I think this could be very helpful for clients. Thank you so much for sharing your story!
    -Abby

    • Hi Abby, thank you for your comment and I hope my views can be of some help to you 🙂

  19. This is amazing! I love how you turned you stuttering into your own superpower and reclaimed the control of you life and your ability to feel confident in your speech. You said that speech therapy wasn’t for you, do you think if an SLP approached therapy as not a way to “fix” your speech, do you think speech therapy would’ve worked for you?

    • Hey, so true! I feel if the SLP dint try to “fix” me, but just worked with the mindset aspect of it, things would have been better for me 🙂 thanks for commenting!!

  20. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for sharing your experience with stuttering treatment and your journey to find alternatives that work better for your like community support. This is great for me to hear as an SLP graduate student and understand that not everyone that I see is going to be “one size fits all”. Your post has helped me raise my awareness of how I treat PWS that are on my caseload and made me realize that I have the perspective that coming to treatment is intrinsically good for them rather than asking them how they want to approach it.

  21. Hello Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for sharing your story on your journey with stuttering. As an SLP graduate student, I love hearing other people’s stories with the hope of learning ways for me to best support future clients. I find your story motivational because despite having people tell you there was something you needed to ‘fix’ about yourself, you did not let that get in the way of achieving your dreams. I also loved that acceptance was more beneficial to you than speech therapy. Speech therapy isn’t for everyone and not everyone finds acceptance the same way. However, I am so glad you found support groups that helped grow your ‘relationship’ with your stutter. Do you think acceptance would have come sooner if you had found a support system like that at a younger age?

    • Hello there, yes I feel support system at a younger age for people who stutter is a boon because we are made to feel that we are “not normal” and if you/one has a support group or community, where they feel loved/belonged, it works so much on the stuttering mindset and overall quality of life! thanks for your comment.!

  22. Hi Vaishnavi!
    I absolutely adored how you took a different approach to stuttering. I know that many people who stutter today do struggle with how it feels to have different speech. However, the approach that you took of truly believing and understanding that your stutter is a superpower is inspirational. I truly believe after reading your experience that not only is your stutter a superpower but you yourself are a superhero. I think you have an amazing description of what it truly feels like for some people to go to speech therapy and not feel like they are getting the help they need. I agree with you that some of the best things a person who stutters can do is accept their stutter and find a community.

    A question that I did have after reading your story was, when you did start to teach did you notice anything different about your stutter? And if so how did your students react to your stutter? Did this bother you at all or even empower you more?

    • Hey, thanks for your question!

      I noticed that when I started to teach, my stuttering increased more (maybe because I was more exhausted hiding it, I had to lecture students 3-4 hours a day in monologue). I was always a person who couldn’t hide my stutter and hence it was more revealed as I spoke, my facial expressions, eyes closure and everyone staring at my face, omg it was a nightmare.

      Regarding my students reacting, I received both positive and negative comments for my stammer. Negative comments were like “why are you in this profession which involves so much speaking?”, “why don’t you choose something simpler?”, “we couldn’t understand anything today”, and some nastier comments like “why are you hired to spoil our lives?”

      Some positive comments were like, “omg, you are so inspiring”, “I wouldn’t have even thought to do that if I had a stutter!”.

      I would lie if I say that the negative comments dint bother me. I went into a whole state of depression but tried to fake it with a smile. God knows, how I was so strong that time. But I kept telling myself, the more they will show me down, the more I will rise up! I feel my strong mindset has helped me to feel empowered.

  23. Not you’re not normal. You’re exeptional! You are the example of how we want people to see a PWS: strong, confident, intelligent, funny, warrior and such an amazing friend. The more we meet, the more I like you. And yes, size doesn’t matter, as you compensate your size by your personality. So don’t let anyone make you feel small. Shout like you did, or call in your troops. We’re just a message away. <3

    Happy ISAD and keep shouting! 😉

    Anita

  24. Hi Vaishnavi! I really enjoyed reading about your experience and what you felt has helped you the most with your stutter. Viewing stuttering as your “superpower” is an amazing perspective to have, and one I will share and utilize with others as I am currently in graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist. You also mentioned you only attended speech therapy for three days, but decided it would not work for you in the outside world. In our fluency class, we have been taught that providing support and establishing trust is far more important than therapy. Had you felt your speech pathologist prioritized supporting your wants and needs in addition to forming a trusting relationship, would that have changed your perspective of speech therapy?

    • Hello, thanks for your question. I feel that the SLP should have tried to work more on building a trust relationship with me, before fixing me and worked more on the acceptance mindset.

  25. Hi there!
    Reading “…how I changed my lived experience with stuttering from a ‘disability’ to a ‘superpower'” caught my eye right away. Taking those ‘negative’ traits of yourself and using them to empower you and encourage you to thrive in your is incredible! Never stop embracing every single part of you, no matter what is thrown your way. Your story will be so impactful to so many people who stutter, as well as those people who do not.

  26. Hi Vaishnavi!

    Thank you for sharing your story. You give such a great message to people who stutter and those who do not. It is inspiring how strong and resilient you are. Stuttering is an amazing superpower! As I continue on my journey as a new speech therapist, I will make sure to relay your message to my future clients!

    Rebekah

  27. Hi Vaishnavi!

    Thank you for sharing your experience as a person who stutters. I love that you turned something that most people see as negative into a superpower. As a future speech-language pathologist, your message really resonates with me. I am happy to hear you went for your dreams, it speaks volumes about your resilience. I will make sure to include this message in my future practice.

    -Alaina

  28. Wow, what a beautiful story, Vaishnavi! It was interesting to read about a PWS experience from a different culture. I enjoyed reading about how your stubbornness fueled your perseverance to push yourself towards your dreams!

    • Hey there, thank you so much for reading up. Its so interesting to discuss my experiences with all the PWS around the world. Much love 🙂

  29. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Your experience is so motivating and shows perseverance! I love that you advocated for yourself and didn’t let anyone make you feel like you needed to be “fixed.” I’m glad that your story is shared, as it’s empowering – you didn’t let it stop you from chasing your dreams!

  30. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for sharing how you changed your mindset of your stuttering to something so positive and that you must take what you have and go with it. As a graduate student, I will remember information on your topic to help me better serve students on my caseload that stutter or have any other disorder to qualify them for services.

  31. If your stutter is a by-product of your stubborn mind, what a great gift! A superpower, indeed. Your message radiates confidence. What strength it took for you to push through all of those naysayers, before you had any contact with the stuttering community. What your message tells me, as a future SLP, is that we need to be there for those that don’t have your “stubborn mind” or strength to push through the negativity. We need to help those people who stutter that want to be public speakers (or at least live lives that require speaking) and support their dreams, no matter what they may be. Props to you for having the strength to get yourself to a place where you could find support and encouragement and thank you for sharing what it takes to chase your dreams, especially as a person who stutters.

    • Hey Amanda, yes a true story, my stubborn mind is born out of my stutter. I am sure you will be a great SLP if you could help even one person to develop a stubborn mind and not listen to this world (whos telling them that they cant do it). Thanks for your comment 🙂

  32. Your journey from perceiving stuttering as a “disability” to embracing it as a “superpower” is an incredible shift to make. Your resilience, determination, and self-acceptance shine through in your story. It’s impressive how you pursued your dream career despite societal pressure and proved that your stutter does not define your abilities. Your message that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to stuttering, and that self-acceptance can be a game-changer, is a valuable reminder for all. Congratulations on your Ph.D. in Law and thank you for sharing your uplifting journey to inspire others to believe in themselves and their dreams.

  33. Hi Vaishnavi!

    Thank you so much for sharing. I truly admire how you did not let others opinions get in the way of you achieving what you want. You knew what you could accomplish, and you did it, which is very inspiring. I am currently in grad school to be a speech pathologist, and I plan to use your “Stuttering is your superpower” message to help inspire my future clients as well.

    -Alana

  34. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Thank you so much for sharing your story regarding stuttering. I am studying to become a speech-language pathologist and I am currently learning fluency disorders. Your personal story was motivating and inspiring based on the way you continued to advocate for yourself. Reading your story has given me a new perspective.

    Thank you so much again for sharing!

  35. Hi Vaishnavi,
    I applaud your self-determination of embracing and accepting the disability of disfluency as a part of your individuality. For others, therapy is also not a route of improvement. I hope others can learn from your positivity in turning disfluency into a “superpower,” thus aiding in your resiliency and self-determination in becoming a lawyer. As a future SLP, the realization that therapy is individualized and “one size does not fit all” is important in treatment. Additionally, stuttering is multifaceted, and PWS cannot be put into one individualized box. As a clinician, sharing your story is motivational and inspirational example for my future clients. It is an example that proves dreams can be met through hard work and perseverance. Not all dreams need changed or redirected; they can be met through sheer determination.
    Thank you for sharing, Amy

  36. Hi Vaishnavi! Thank you for sharing some of your experiences with stuttering; I loved how you spoke about your stutter as being your superpower. It excites me that you let something your society viewed as unacceptable, to empower you to pursue your dreams. As a future speech language pathologist, I hope to empower people who stutter by reminding them that words are their “superpower” and not everyones words sound the same.

  37. Hello, Vaishnavi!
    Your story was quite interesting! I adore how you pursued your ambition of working in a field that involves public speaking. You never gave up on yourself despite others telling you that you had “broken speech,” and it also helped you recognize that stuttering is your “superpower.” I’m a SLP graduate student and I want to tell this story to any clients that I have in future that stutter. I want to say that they should pursue their goals and use their stuttering as a “superpower,” encouraging them to do so.

  38. Dr. Ranjana,
    Congratulations on your Ph.D.! I loved reading your insights on stuttering, and how you came to see it as your superpower because of the way it propels you to keep working through obstacles. As a student in speech-language therapy, I am very interested in paths toward acceptance. I think your perspective is wonderful and I’m so glad you didn’t listen to the message that you can’t pursue amazing accomplishments while your speech is “broken”. It was great to read how you fit all of the pieces of yourself – your resilience, your empathetic nature, and your stuttering – into a complete puzzle. All of those descriptions connect. It can’t be any other way.

  39. Hello Vaishnavi,

    You have told such a beautiful story about your experiences as a person who stutters. It was so moving to hear about how your suttering has influenced your life in such a positive light. It was admirable to hear that you refused to be silenced and to sound like everyone else. Rather, you used your stuttering as a superpower. It saddens me to hear your experience in 3 days with a speech therapist. Especially considering that putting pebbles in your mouth is not ethical nor backed up by evidence based practices. As a grad student training to become a speech language pathologist, I think you would be happy to hear that we emphasize on embracing a person’s stutter rather than changing who they are. Hearing your story really puts this into perspective for me and I hope to share your story with future clients. Wishing you all the best!