May 31st, 2022

Post date: June 2, 2022

We had a good group of 5 who zoomed together last night and we got ourselves into some deep discussion right off the bat. Jeff, Natalie, Chris M, Rick and myself were there.  After checking in and being happy that Natalie recovered from the weekend of her sister's wedding and a successfully spoken toast to the bride and groom. We also welcomed  Chris back from his time in Canada, but soon folks were asking about the Joint World Congress on Stuttering and Cluttering that was held this past weekend in Montreal. I had recently decided to go, thanks to the encouragement of Rick and also thanks to the fact that I needed Stuttering CEUs for my licensure renewal. Unfortunately Rick was unable to go which is why I didn't see him there. One of the interesting topics that was up for discussion in a session was initiated by an article by Tichenor, Constantino, & Yaruss, which I sent out to you all earlier in our email thread. Those authors presented the case that the term "Fluency and Fluency Disorder" is used too often inappropriately in the SLP profession and they suggested that PWS and also SLPs would be best served if it was replaced by "Stuttering". So we had our own little/big discussion about this and wow, our thoughts and opinions ranged the continuum and of course, it "all depends" on context, situation, etc. Which then led us to the topic of Acceptance, with the question being asked: Why are we telling a young school aged child that it's "OK to Stutter", if all a kid wants to be is "just like everyone else" and that stuttering leads to bullying. Reference being made to the Texas shooter who was said to have been bullied when young due to a speech impairment. But again, "it all depends". In the end, I think we came to the agreement that the majority of those who espouse "Acceptance" aren't meaning to NOT try to improve your speech but rather to state that having a stutter is a "difference" but it doesn't devalue you as a person anymore that the next person who will also have "differences" (eyesight, height, intelligence, artistic skill, etc.) from other people and it is nothing of which to be ashamed or guilty. Improving speech is a choice and you are an "OK" person whatever your choice, perfect fluency is not a requirement to be an "OK person". Our discussion then led to a general one about bullying. It's something that exists in societies, not specific to stuttering, and that it is now much more recognized and addressed than when some of us were in school; there is much now done to educate and teach tolerance of differences, etc. Nevertheless, sadly it still exists in many contexts of childhood in many places and can deeply affect a child's social and emotional health.

Phew! This is long! Sorry about that, but you can tell we had a great discussion!

Before I sign off, three things:   

1. One notable and fantastic event at the World Congress was the opening session, a motivational TEDx speaker who stutters, Joze Piranian. YOU MUST watch his TED TALK. So amazing and inspiring. Give yourself the 15 minutes it takes to watch it. He speaks to you about not letting your fears hold you back, but rather use that fear to move forward and get on with life! You will be moved by his talk and will find yourself somewhere along his own journey.  Here is the link and it's great to see a "famous person who stutters", who really stutters well!  

https://www.ted.com/talks/joze_piranian_why_your_worst_fear_might_be_your_greatest_asset

Marcus Aurelius — 'The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.' 

2. Second thing is that Rick, and maybe others, wanted to hear about all the other sessions I attended at the World Congress, and I said I'd write it up. So I attached a small summary of the sessions I attended to our email thread. I mostly attended the research updates on various topics and some sessions that addressed therapy ideas/approaches. As Rick also had earlier sent out, I also talked to the developers of the BeneTalk app, a free app that is dedicated to PWS to help them practice and "work on'' therapy strategies. I've just downloaded it myself and want to play with it a bit, but it looks like a very useful tool that you can individualize to suit your own choices and practice needs. So, sit back with a cuppa and enjoy!

3. Our own Nancy Hall was also presenting on Sunday about treating kids who stutter who have concomitant language impairment. (I left Saturday afternoon, so very sorry, Nancy, that I didn’t try to connect up with you there, but I did keep my eye out for you!)