June 28th, 2022

Post date: September 29, 2022

We had a really great Zoom meeting on Tuesday. Lots of catching up and good discussions. Chris M, Mike M, Natalie, Andy and myself zoomed in. We've all been busy with various adventures this past month, from Mike - returning from a Baltic Cruise, to Chris M. - stepping up to be campaign manager for a friend running in the fall state legislature elections, to Andy - making his 3rd (THIRD!) Toastmasters speech, to Natalie - working to stay energized while still working from home (finally transferring to some real "office time" in the fall), to me - handling a variety of roles and responsibilities during the past week at a huge church yard sale. Finally, we heard from Natalie and Andy all about challenges and fun of playing video games. "The elders" in the group came to realize how social and interactive video games can actually be. We discussed the potential of using "virtual reality" scenarios in a variety of ways to practice speech strategies and to otherwise desensitize stutterers to different environmental contexts. In fact, Marybeth noted that there have been a few studies published where virtual reality has been a variable in therapy techniques and outcomes. And, as usual, themes of "stuttering" fluttered in and out of most of the above discussion topics. You had to be there!