The conference begins on October 1 and lasts until ISAD on October 22.
According to Judith Kuster, conference host and professor emeritus at Minnesota State University in Mankato, the conference represents a world-wide endeavor by people interested in stuttering, including people who stutter, their friends and families, and professionals such as educators, researchers and clinicians.
Prior to the conference the presenters submit papers on a variety of aspects of stuttering. For the duration of the conference, threaded discussions take place between presenters and participants. Instructions on how to register will be available beginning on October 1.
All papers remain available online after the conference concludes. Past online conferences are freely available in the conference archives.
The Stutter Social team hopes to see you on October 1 for the beginning of the conference!
Christine Dits, a Stutter Social participant and 23-year-old person who stutters, seen at the National Stuttering Association's annual conference this past year in St. Petersburg, Florida (photo credit: Dits).
Soon after starting the speech-language pathology graduate program at Eastern Michigan University this fall, Christine Dits, a 23-year-old person who stutters and Stutter Social participant, found herself confidently disclosing her stuttering to her classmates.
However, she didn't always have this confidence. “I couldn't accept the fact that stuttering was a part of me and I would always have it,” she recalls. “I was embarrassed by my stuttering and dreaded the negative reactions from others.”
Over the years, her attitude changed from feelings of frustration to feelings of acceptance, she notes. And it was this shift that prompted her to become a speech-language pathologist. “I understand the frustration and anxiety that comes with such a disorder and wanted to share my story with others. I knew I could relate to others about their struggle with communication on a deeper level, and I wanted to help serve as a driving force in their recovery.”
Dits's attitude started changing when she was about 16 or 17, and began researching self-help activities and came across the National Stuttering Association (NSA).
“I stumbled upon the NSA website during a quick Internet search,” she says. “I sought out these resources and the NSA because I wanted answers and I wanted information. I also wanted to be connected to a support system of people in my area or near me who could understand exactly what I was feeling.”
Her support system continued to expand. Last year, she found out about Stutter Social through her friends from the NSA. “I wanted to reconnect with my NSA friends and talk to other people who stutter,” she says about what drew her to participate in hangouts.
What she enjoys most is the opportunity to gain advice from others and offer her own advice to those facing similar struggles. “It’s a big self-help group,” she says.
Due to the support she's received and her attitude changing, Dits has accepted her stuttering, giving her the confidence to advertise her stuttering in a classroom full of strangers.
"I want you all to know that she just showed a lot of courage by introducing herself to a room full of strangers and telling you all that she stutters,” her professor told the class after she disclosed, as Dits wrote on Facebook. “I have had some clients who, it took 50 days (or sessions) to get them to open up about their stuttering. For people who stutter, stuttering is like a backpack they carry around all day and can never take off. These individuals are very well-adjusted people, because they have to learn how to work around their stuttering."
Every time Grant Meredith comes into a Stutter Social hangout, those in the group who haven't previously met him enthusiastically ask about the gaming posters adorning his walls.
A lecturer in multimedia and games design at the University of Ballarat in Australia, Grant is also an avid collector of game consoles.
“I have about 200 or more consoles," explains Grant. “Most of them are basically Pong. And a different version of Pong. And another different version of Pong!” he laughs. “My Pong powers are such that I play myself at Pong. Right hand versus left hand.”
When he is not playing Pong or tending to his other important responsibilities of life, the father of two enjoys hanging out with his fellow stutterers on Stutter Social. It gives him easy access to a support group since the nearest one is about 100 km away from where he lives.
“Stutter Social makes it basically a button press away. I guess because in my country, everyone is so widely dispersed and it's really hard to get a number of people who stutter online at the same time.”
Along with the international participants in the hangouts, Grant is drawn to the ease being able to talk to other people who stutter around the world in an open environment, “and a non-judgemental one. I like the fact that it's not technique-orientated because that's normally more exclusive then. I'd class this service as inclusive. It is open to anybody who stutters in any shape or form.”
It's also that open environment that Grant says makes it easy for first timers to quickly feel at home.
“I can understand how it can be a scary step for some first timers,” he ponders. “You might not be comfortable stuttering in front of other stutterers. You might not want to put your hand up and talk at various times, but it's a brave step you should be taking.”
“[Stutter Social] is a non-pressure-filled environment and nothing will be held against you. You don't have to use any form of technique. You can practically talk about any topic, too, and everyone there is friendly and fun.”
Photo credit: Ali Salem, regular Stutter Social
participant and fantastic photographer!
We are pleased to announce that Samuel Dunsiger, our communications director, is now a Stutter Social host!
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Sam is a freelance journalist and communications specialist, with interests in writing, social media, health and wellness and making a difference. A self-diagnosed entertainment junkie, Sam enjoys reading, watching movies and TV shows.
“And, of course, hanging out with my stuttering peeps,” Sam adds, “whether it be old friends or making new ones on Stutter Social or at the NSA conference."
Sam was involved with Stutter Social as a participant from the beginning. “The co-founders (and new friends of mine from the 2011 National Stuttering Association conference in Fort Worth, Texas) wanted to keep in touch with their friends and maintain the momentum from the conference. I thought it was a brilliant idea, since I had met a lot people who stutter at the conference and it was even my first time doing so. Then we started getting participants from around the world. Stutter Social became my support group and, since then, I've missed very few hangouts.”
As a new host, Sam is looking forward to continuing to meet others who stutter from around the world and learning from their experiences and offering his own. “It's that whole idea of support. You're building friendships with people who know exactly what you're going through and vice-versa. You're helping them and they're helping you. It's a really powerful thing to have.”
Sam hosts Thursdays at 8:30pm Eastern Time (Toronto/New York) alternating with co-founder David Resnick.
Last week, Stutter Social broadcasted a Q+A hangout On Air with two comedians who stutter: Nina G and Jody Fuller. Nina is a stand-up comic living in San Francisco, California, and Jody is a professional speaker and captain in the U.S. Army living in Opelika, Alabama.
The two comedians took questions from the audience in the hangout and viewers watching on YouTube. Questions centered around how they achieved their dreams of telling jokes on stage in spite of their stuttering.
Doing stand-up comedy was one of Nina's un-realized childhood dreams...so she decided to give it a try. "I really felt that everything I wanted to do as a kid I was doing. With the exception of this," Nina explained, "I just needed to do it because this is a lifelong thing that I wanted to do".
Jody chose not to turn down the opportunity to get on stage when it came up. "You can look at my old yearbooks from high school and people were like 'Hey one of these days we will see you on HBO'. But being from a small town in Alabama, I had no idea even how to pursue anything like that. When my friend told me about her friend who did an open mic, I [asked muself] 'why the heck not?'.
On the topic of dealing with stuttering ruining a punch line, Nina shared, "It's always an issue. I kind of feel that punch lines are like saying our names. There's no way of getting around them so we will stutter on them more. And that's where practising a lot lets me get to know the material very well so the pressure isn't there to get it out just right."
Jody works any unexpected stuttering into the joke he is saying. "I play it in. I'll be like, 'I wrote this joke and you would have thought I would have seen it coming' or something like that. So I just work it in and I usually give it another try and it comes out okay."
Participating in the hangout audience was Jason Walther, who was inspired to fulfill his dream of doing stand up after he saw our hangout guests performing at a comedy night that Nina organized during the National Stuttering Association conference last year in Fort Worth, Texas.
"It was wonderful to have two role models and to see you can do comedy while stuttering.", said Jason. "I remember a few days later, I was talking to Nina and she got on her laptop and said 'You're going to pick an open mic' and she made me sign up for it. So a few weeks later, I went to the open mic and it was terrifying. But I am loving it."
Jason asked Jody what made him go back on stage and try again after failing at an open mic early on.
"At the risk of sounding like the TV movie of the week," explained Jody, "I'm an 'adapt and overcome' kind of guy. I'm not going to let one struggle or pitfall turn me off on anything. Chalk it up as a lesson learned."
"As long as you are funny," shared Nina, "that is the big thing".
The Q+A hangout is available for viewing on YouTube and is embedded above.
“People used to pick on me because of my speech. Now they pay to hear me speak,” said Jody Fuller, a comedian and person who stutters, at the 2012 National Stuttering Association conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a comedian who stutters? On Thursday July 26th at 8:30 PM EST (Toronto, New York), Stutter Social is hosting another live Q+A Hangout On Air, this time with Jody and Nina G., the world’s only female comedian who stutters (or as she puts it, until she finds another one).
Did we say live? Yes, we did. The Hangout will once again be streamed live on YouTube. So join us in the Hangout or watch it on YouTube and post any questions you may have for Jody and Nina! Both links will be circulated when the Hangout begins.
The link to join the Hangout will be posted on our website stuttersocial.com. In the meantime, here are some videos of their performances for your viewing pleasure. We hope to see you in the Hangout and don't forget to follow us on G+!
