Support, Who Doesn’t Need it? Creating Support Groups for Students Who Stutter & Their Families

Abstract: This session will focus on the critical role that support groups play for students who stutter and their families. Stuttering, a speech disorder that affects the flow of speech, can create emotional, social, and academic challenges for students. Through participation in support groups, both students and their families can find a safe space to share experiences, receive encouragement, and access valuable resources.

Description: In the era of neurodiversity, many SLPs need further insight into successfully facilitating stuttering support groups for people who stutter and their parents. Imagine a place where people who stutter can come together and share their experiences in coping with stuttering, celebrate their successes, gain support in facing their challenges, and simply not have to worry about whether other people will listen to them when they talk.
Now imagine, an event where people who stutter (including both adults and children), family members, and speech-language pathologists dedicated to stuttering, can all work together with a common focus on helping people overcome the stigma of stuttering.
Participating in a self-help/support group event is one of the most important experiences that people who care about stuttering can have.
During this session, we will explore the following key areas:
- Emotional Support: How support groups provide a non-judgmental environment for students to express their feelings and reduce the anxiety associated with stuttering.
- Peer Connection: The benefit of connecting with others who stutter, helping students realize they are not alone in their struggles, which can foster self-acceptance and confidence.
- Family Support: How families can learn from others' experiences, gain insights into how to better support their child, and reduce feelings of isolation or helplessness.
- Practical Strategies: Sharing effective coping strategies, speech therapy resources, and communication techniques that families can use at home and in school.
- Advocacy and Awareness: How these groups can empower students and their families to advocate for accommodations in educational settings and raise awareness about stuttering.

The World Health Organization proposes that “people with similar disabilities, as well as rehabilitation professionals should share information, ideas, and experiences to encourage mutual understanding and collaboration (WHO, 2010). There is a collection of evidence, documenting how stuttering support groups help people who stutter have more positive attitudes towards themselves, as well as their stuttering, and students gain new perspectives by watching others who stutter communicate. Stuttering support groups reinforce emotional well-being and socialization by creating a sense of not being “alone”.

When students learn that they are not alone in facing their stuttering, when they see that they can stutter yet still say what they want to say, when parents learn that their children will be okay even though they stutter, and even when clinicians come to realize that they can make a difference in people's lives, freedom is evident. It's truly a moving experience.

As the speech-language pathology profession begins to champion the concept of stuttering as natural form of diverse communication, society will follow suit. It is our job to empower students to advocate for themselves and educate others using Joseph Sheehan’s principle that “fluent speech doesn’t do you any good. There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you stutter and there’s nothing to be proud of when you are fluent”. Personal authenticity is more important than being fluent. Let’s create an atmosphere of acceptance without the stigma.

By the end of the session, participants will have a deeper understanding and walk away with the skills to facilitate a self -help/ support group that enhances emotional well-being, social integration, and academic success for students who stutter, while offering crucial support for their families.

Supporting Research: Reference 1: Boyle, N.E, Abdoola, S.S., & Eslick, C.J. (2023). ‘Why Do People Who Stutter Attend Stuttering Support Groups? ‘. South African Journal of Communication Disorders, (70(1), a958. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v70i1.958

Supporting Research: Reference 2: Gerlach, H., Hollister, J., Caggiano, L., Zebrowski, P. M. (2019). The Utility of Stuttering Support Organization Conventions for Young People Who Stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, Vol 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fludis.2019.105724

Supporting Research: Reference 3: Iimura, D., Ishida, O. (2022). The Influence of Self-Help/ Support Group Experience on People Who Stutter; A Systematic Review. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, Vol. 26, https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2022.2139954

Supporting Research: Reference 4: Turkili, Seda, Turkili, Serkan, & Aydin, Z.F. (2022). Mental Well-Being and Related Factors in Individuals With Stuttering. Heliyon/ Cell Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10446

Supporting Research: Reference 5: World Health Organization. (2010). Community-Based Rehabilitation: CBR guidelines. Empowerment Component. WHO press. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44405/9789241548052_empower_eng.pdf?sequence=5