Stuttering Solutions Atlanta

As we begin to stutter we typically develop a myriad of avoidance tricks and unique physical symptoms of struggle. If you attend a stuttering conference, you will see a wide array of stuttering behaviors. Word changing, looking away while stuttering, taking phone calls in privacy, and inserting chronic fillers during stuttering (i.e., like, um, so) are some of the many aspects of stuttering that are choices. We have a "structure" to our stuttering as though the physical and cognitive aspects are an engineered product. This was my story, too.

Go back and listen to podcast #1- Purpose Intention and Stuttering. Once we have identified the choices we make, we can do the opposite and re-engineer stuttering.

It takes time and a ton of courage. Like Nelson Mandela once said: "Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the triumph over it."

Noel and Tim reunite 20 years after speech therapy. Noel explains where he was when we met, the therapy we did together, and his success today! Using metaphors and analogies from computing we break it all down. People who stutter have malware (negative thoughts) that populate instantly and trigger anxiety. What if you had an anti-virus program to remove toxic memories, to reduce anxiety, and thrive when talking? After listening to this podcast you will want to reference back to previous podcasts such at Purpose Intention and Stuttering (#1), The Cinema of the Mind, The Top 10 Forms of Twisting Thinking, Teriyaki Chicken, and Beliefs. Remember that his change began at age 30. With the right CBT skills anyone can dramatically reduce their anxiety related to stuttering.

"When the objective is clear enough, there is no obstacle"- Napoleon Hill

If you need software testing done, reach out to Noel and his team: https://celticqa.com/

People who stutter (PWS) develop fear and avoidance habits.  Unless we know how to help a pws with reducing fear and anxiety, we are not providing holistic therapy.  An embarrassing moment of stuttering or avoiding talking is "stored to the hard drive"-  it is consolidated, and it can be reconsolidated later.   You can actually feel an old memory in your soma! As Starkweather and Givens write, stuttering is a variant of PTSD (see below).   Anxiety and fear is the biggest obstacle for pws and graduate programs don't train students in CBT.  Time-Line therapy is special sauce in providing CBT for pws.  Disclosure and acceptance are essential but they take a long time.  What if you could run an antivirus scan in your brain and quarantine files of toxic memories, beliefs, and malware thoughts?  Caveat: as the wikipedia article states, you must be skilled in the delivery of this therapy. 

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_memories#:~:text=Traumatic%20memories%20are%20formed%20after,hours%20after%20the%20initial%20experience.

https://www.stuttering-specialist.com/post/stuttering-as-a-variant-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder

Books:

Time Line Therapy and The Basis of Personality.  James and Woodsmall

Adventures with Time Lines.  Bodenhamer & Hall

For a long time, bilingual families were told to discard their native language and to only use English.  Many practitioners and clinicians force English on their clients and patients during appointments.  Ana Paula G. Souza Mumy and John Gomez join Tim for an interview.  Ana Paula's research was recently published and a link to the article will be seen at the bottom of this paragraph.  The title of the article is Culturally Responsive Guidelines for Serving Families of Bilingual Children Who Stutter.  A few key take aways are: bilingualism does not increase the risk of stuttering, children can endure "code switching" as two languages are used simultaneously, clinicians want to allow the language of the parent to be used in the clinic or the office, and that language choice is about relationship and connection.  John Gomez is the director of When I Stutter (keeneyeproductions.com).  Ana Paula translated the movie into Portugese, her native language.  John is an SLP working in Los Angeles, California and he serves a very diverse community with a heavily bilingual population.  As America become more and more bilingual, this is eye opening and ground breaking work by Ana Paula.  

Link here: 

https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2022_PERSP-21-00235

Listen as Jeff tells you about his milestones that led to a highly successful career in sales.  In retirement, Jeff is a non-stop volunteer and a minister to those in need.  Jeff describes his several attempts at speech therapy before we met and he found what was missing: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).  Strategies from NLP and time-line therapy were essential in reducing his anxiety and unleashing his inner voice. 

Yesterday I explained the consequences of negative watershed moments that lead to anxiety and fear.  A watershed moment is a turning point, the exact moment that changes the direction of an activity or situation.  A pws can have victories that are positive watershed moments.  Examples are:  rewarding moments of public speaking, beginning to disclose that you stutter, learning to advocate and have a "come back" to bullies, or joining the stuttering community.  Positive watershed moments ultimately change the meaning of stuttering. 

  "Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say."   Barbara Kingsolver

A watershed moment is a turning point, the exact moment that changes the direction of an activity or situation. A watershed moment in stuttering is a dividing point where the stuttering and the impact it has on the pws takes a turn for the worse.  Notice the title is "how?" and not "why?"   The question "how?" is more productive and solution oriented, isn't it.  When a pws attaches personalization and projecting thoughts to stuttering he will develop anxiety related to stuttering.  I take calls every week that start with something similar to this: "I don't understand why my child is stuttering more/worse and she is now changing words, looking away, and grimacing."  That child is at the inflection point/turning point/watershed and she needs help now. Watersheds remind us why holistic treatment is ESSENTIAL to offer lasting solutions for pws.  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) explains my own emancipation from speech anxiety and it is a skillset needed in speech therapy for stuttering. 

The mind can operate like a cinema or a movie and create wild images that portray the fear of stuttering. People who stutter (pws) can create very vivid and specific "movies" about their stuttering.  Pws also remember past moments of stuttering with negative thoughts linked to them. This podcast explains the Cinema of the Mind, how it manifests anxiety, and it offers ideas that can help a pws or a clinician dedicated to helping them.  

Is my child really stuttering?  Preschool presents a special time window that offers the greatest opportunity to resolve stuttering. Many parents hear conflicting advice from physicians, clinicians, and teachers regarding stuttering.  Generalizations (i.e., "all kids do that") can be innacurate and can deter parents from seeking a consultation from a certifed stuttering specialist.   Listen to this podcast for vital information specific to preschool children at risk for stuttering.  It is estimated that 5 million Americans and 70 million world wide stutter.   Parents do have choices.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Many recent news interviews and articles have made a matter of fact declaration that "stuttering is not caused by trauma."  It's true that young preschool children do not begin to stutter because of trauma.  Stuttering is best classified as a neurological disorder.  Now let's look at the role that traumatic experiences play in the complex communication disorder called stuttering- or stammering in the UK.   Teasing, bullying, mimicking, stupid and harmful comments are traumatic for the person who stutters (pws).  The pws develops anxiety, avoidance, and shame as a result of the traumatic experiences of said hurtful moments of stuttering.  The pws who stutters can also feel ashamed and remember avoiding talking (i.e., declining a reading at a wedding).  The CDC researched and discovered that 61% of adults remember Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE).  To honor,understand, and to effectively help pws the life experience of stuttering must become clear.  The personal experience of trauma within the pws is responsible for "the iceberg of stuttering" and the "giant in chains complex."  Listen to this and other podcasts of mine that examine fear and the psychological parts of stuttering.    

Yes, I said that you can be a CHAMPION in stuttering.  Listen for my 10 point plan to help unleash your speech and your confidence.

What is L2?  Look and let it out!  People who stutter tend to look away and to compensate for stuttering from a place of fear or embarrassment.  A snap shot of a moment of stuttering may be a pws introducing himself and following these steps: 1) look away, 2) inhale, 3) begin to stutter, 4) back up and insert several "uhs and ums," 5) retry the word and stutter through it.  To stutter more easily and freely listen to this podcast and implement ideas that you agree with.  My first podcast was called Purpose Intention and Stuttering.  L2 is congruent with that key concept. 

  "Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say."   Barbara Kingsolver

Jason and Tim catch up 20 years and one month after our last session.  At age 25 he was an engineer doing desk work.   His old anxiety was holding him back.  Now he has 20 years of constant talking, phone calling, internet chats, seminar talks, managing, and team building under his belt. He travels internationally and get to speak to people of all cultures.  That could be quite intimidating.   Listen to how he has been so successful.  Fitness is one of his key ingredients.  I am a big fan of cardio work for mental acuity and stress management. Jason also tells us to speak up and that we are more than stuttering!  As you listen to several of my other podcasts you are reminded that adults who stutter can still transform and liberate themselves in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. 

Many of you know John's name from his book Redefining Stuttering: What the Struggle to Speak is Really About.  He also authored the famous Stuttering Hexagon diagram and article. John explains why he prefers the concept of "Holding Back" over stuttering.  He was one of the original 15 people who participated in the National Stuttering Project- now known as the National Stuttering Association.  John participated in Toastmasters for several years before leading public speaking workshops in the Bay Area of California. I have learned a lot from John since first meeting him in 1997.  I think he helps SLPs think outside the box of mainstream treatment methods for stuttering.(Search his book title on on the internet and the 600+ page book is available for free on PDF). 

Ian Trimble is a cyber security expert.  He speaks all day long.  He is a trainer and a consultant.  Ian's childhood included teasing, bullying, and avoidance.  He had a life time of speech therapy before we met when he was in his early 20's.  Ian explains how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via NLP and Neurosemantics provided him the life-changing breakthrough he sought after.  Listen to his story of resolve and courage.  

Children who stutter are often teased and bullied.  This leads to a social anxiety, avoiding, and the fear of talking.  Social anxiety starting in childhood can persist into adulthood. This podcast explains the psychological impact of teasing and how parents and teachers can support the child who stutters.  This is really important! 

A healthy sense of humor is like medicine for stuttering- it can help take the pain and anxiety away.    People who stutter (pws) can spend a life time attempting to conceal their stuttering. Why? Teasing and bullying is real problem for ps.  Pws believe they will be judged for stuttering. Rob Bloom, of Orlando Florida, joins Tim in this podcast. We reflect back and we wish we would have disclosed our stuttering and used humor to de-personalize it.   If a pws can make light of his stuttering and "set the frames" for it, what happens to fear and social anxiety?  The Iceberg of Stuttering begins to melt.  Begin to set the narrative for your stuttering.  Never apologize and be bold.  You are more than stuttering. 

Read this later: https://www.stuttering-specialist.com/post/the-stuttering-iceberg-russ-hicks. 

The Miracle Question Pattern (MQP) helps a person who stutters (PWS) make goals that are within reach.  After a clinician interviews the pws, the clinician may lead the MQP process.  Many pws can independently do this pattern after listening to this podcast.  The MQP was created in the 1970's by Steve De Shazar and Insoo Kim Berg.  Solution Focused Brief Therapy evolved out of the work of De Shazar and Berg.  PWS have anxiety and fear related to stuttering.  The MQP can help identify and change the elements that lead to anxiety and avoidance. I used it to help myself.  I have been using it for 30 years.  Have a great 2022 and beyond!

People who stutter (pws) often have very specific feared words and sounds.  Pws can go to great lengths to avoid and/or develop tricks and crutches intended to conceal stuttering.  Ordering Teriyaki chicken was one of my phobias.  

Tricia Troester is a pws and has three children who stutter.  Tim and Tricia discuss 12 essential points to consider when educating teachers and setting up your child to succeed.  Tim and Tricia each had immense difficulties with stuttering as children in the school setting. Children deserve a safe learning environment with no bullying.  Specific strategies and ideas to support children can also be found here: https://www.stuttering-specialist.com/classroom-advocacy

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that is concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brain affect cognitive and behavioral functions.   In five months, Andrew has largely eliminated anxiety and avoidance related to his stuttering.  Andrew has to administer standardized tests that require nearly perfect speech to be standardized.  He meets with other allied professionals, caretakers, and patients.  Andrew's future will include depositions by attorneys and courtroom expert witness duties.  He will be ready.

Josh DeMuth has 14 years in IT.  He is a cloud solutions architect for a major web service provider. The covid pandemic resulted in a sudden shift to virtual seminars.  If you stutter, you know that was hard. Josh is a "tier 2 qualified speaker" for webinars.  Listen as he tells you how he prepares and executes his webinars. Josh is also a Toastmasters veteran and recently chartered a virtual club.

Mallery is an SLP.  Michael is a construction supervisor and a real estate investor.  Once they started dating Mallery learned the extent of Michael's stuttering. Stuttering was very difficult for him every day. He was avoiding and asking to be enabled. How can Mallery be a partner and an SLP at one time? She is not his therapist but wanted to help anyway she could. It was uncharted territory for her.  He was resistant to help for many years. How fast has Michael changed in a few weeks?  How has their relationship grown and changed?  How courageous is Michael already?  You may agree that this story of love and encouragement has applications to parents and teachers supporting a person who stutters.

What are beliefs?  How do irrational beliefs lead to anxiety, avoidance, eye contact aversion, and other challenges for pws?  How can we change beliefs?

Bethany Anne Lind is an acclaimed actress who makes her home here in Georgia.  I had the pleasure of teaching her to stutter for the award-winning play Carapace- at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta.  In addition to an extensive live theater portfolio, she has had roles in Ozark, The Walking Dead, The Stranger Things.  Streaming now is her movie Blood on Her Name.  We discuss how stuttering is portrayed in theater and movies.  After decades of tolerance for belittling people who stutter and making stuttering a punchline, we are now seeing a shift in the narrative about stuttering.  It is my opinion that the acting and film industry has a responsibility to respect people who stutter.  The ADA protects people who stutter against discrimination. The King's Speech and Carapace are two triumphs for people who stutter.  Documentaries When I Stutter and My Beautiful Stutter are newer additions to a catalog of better portrayal of stuttering and the impact it has on people.  After listening to Bethany Anne Lind, begin enjoying her talent on your television and watch for her in local theater.

Michael Coats is a 48 year old financial consultant.  He began to dive into his life long stutter in late 2016.  We worked together using CBT and best practices in speech pathology.  Michael joined Toastmaster in 2017.  He has entered and won a speech contest!  Whether meeting with clients and team members in person or virtually, he has a game plan for talking. Listening to Michael's dedication and courage is contagious.

Tricia is a devoted parent of three boys.  In addition to stuttering, her boys all have different varieties of autism.  Tricia shares invaluable insight into parenting children with learning differences and stuttering.  She is a big proponent of early support and early intervention.

Derek Mitchell, MBA is an IT professional in Atlanta, Georgia.  He is a local chapter leader for the NSA and active in Toastmasters.  After watching My Octopus Teacher on Netflix, Derek goes deep into the ocean of stuttering.  He has replaced shame and avoidance with courage and advocacy for pws.

This podcast is dedicated to the award-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher.  Free diver, Craig Foster, meets and befriends an octopus while navigating the cold and dangerous waters off Cape Town, South Africa.  The octopus serves as a shaman of sorts for Craig.  People who stutter (pws) can benefit from opening an inner dialogue about stuttering.  The octopus is an expert at disguise and camouflage.  Avoidance and concealing stuttering leads to anxiety and the fear of talking.  I encourage pws to shed the disguises, disclose that they stutter, and live free by speaking up.

After several attempts at previous speech therapy for stuttering, Evan and his parents needed a better approach- a holistic one.  Listen to a sample of his blocking on day one and then his speech on day three.  Integrating CBT and best practices from traditional therapy, Evan is already on his way to strong verbal skills.  You will quickly determine that he really integrated key concepts learned in therapy.   Evan's insight and interpretations are beyond his 15 years of age.   Back to Jiu Jitsu: grappling, submission, and choke holds are some of the common terms in Jiu Jitsu.   Evan explains that you can use finesse to counter the energy of stuttering.  He concludes that stuttering is not an enemy but rather a sparring partner that you can maneuver and escape from its tight grasp.

This podcast will help you begin to uncover and change negative thoughts and beliefs about stuttering that lead us to avoid talking and feel anxiety. David Burns, MD wrote his classic in 1989.  It will never be outdated. With the pandemic going on, pws have extra stress and worry.  Understanding the Top 10 will help you on your journey to greater comfort talking.

If you stutter, it requires extraordinary patience to talk and to cope with the roller coaster of emotions often connected to stuttering.   We have to recover from hardships related to stuttering, remain resilient, deal with impatient listeners, and face a non-stuttering world. If you love someone who stutters, listen and show the patience you know they appreciate. Listen in to hear how to best manage your talking and your emotions.

Sean Khan's story is a modern story for kids, teachers, and parents to hear. Sean, a 23 year-old senior financial analyst with a Fortune 500 company, endured teasing and cyber teasing as a child. Sean speaks English and Urdu. He overcame immense adversity to hit milestones such as speaking at his HS graduation, speaking at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to honor MLK in front of 1,200 people and television, and later raising more than $200,000 for his Atlanta school.  Sean tells us how he used to be defined by stuttering but now he gets to define it!

Watch Sean's televised speech: https://youtu.be/0JefyITNkxY

Dr. Lee Reeves is an icon in the stuttering community. He is one of my role models.  Lee has navigated stuttering in a fashion that I have admired- and I still do.  Lee gives back to the stuttering community in many ways.  He has been involved in the NSA for decades.  Lee works on committees for ASHA.  He has sage advice for pws, parents, and clinicians.  Enjoy his wisdom.

It is widely known that people who stutter develop anxiety and fear related to their stuttering. Many are afraid even to introduce themselves.  How does this develop in children?  What should parents know?  What is good speech therapy to deal with fear and anxiety?   We must learn to speak for ourselves for the rest of our life.  Listen in.

Erin is a 45 year-old social worker (MSW) who helps cancer patients. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to work from home, she had to face a phone phobia that had been dormant like a volcano.  The stuttering volcano erupted.  For 20 years leading up to the pandemic, she didn't really think about the traumatic stuttering from her childhood.  Erin needed immediate and effective results.  She had studied Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) years ago and has found it immensely helpful when counseling her patients.  I helped her reap the benefits of NLP on herself.  NLP is misunderstood and sometimes called "pseudoscience" by critics.  NLP changed my life and is helping countless others. NLP is a massive tool box of CBT.

Chase is in sales and marketing.  When some teachers discouraged him from participating, he said, "NO I will be standing in front of the class like my friends do." The courageous road that got him there is all there for the listener.   Chase gives back to the stuttering community in many ways.  Now, he is helping the children of Nashville, TN stuck at home for virtual learning.

What if you had ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, AND you stuttered?  Jack was his HS valedictorian and he just finished his undergraduate degree!  He will inspire you to fight through adversity and to be your best.

Why do I stutter is the wrong question!  If you are eager to change, you ask "how" instead of "why?"  People who stutter have a "structure" to their stuttering; oftentimes it is very predictable.  An example would be when a server comes up to my table, I take a breath, look away, say several "ums," and then force out the word "h-h-h-hamburger."  That is how I stuttered.  How I stutter explains specific words and situations we routinely stutter on.  Why is a culdesac- you drive in circles- and HOW is the highway to change.

Katie, Alayna, and Tim talk stuttering.  Katie, age 25, is now in grad school to become an SLP.  Alayna, age 13, wants to follow in her footsteps.  We talk about disclosure,  shutting down bullies, and going beyond acceptance.

24 year old Hunter tells us how he is taking on stuttering once and for all!  He dropped out of college due to stuttering but intends to jump back in to finish his degree soon. Hunter tells us how he benefited from CBT and speech therapy techniques to overcome his speech phobia.  Phone calling, public speaking, and introducing himself are now skills that he enjoys.

Mysteries and quandaries in stuttering:  Why do we not stutter when we sing?  If someone reads in unison with me I don't stutter! What is masking and how is it I don't stutter when I cannot hear myself?  I hear Emily Blunt, James Earl Jones, and Bruce Willis stutter in real life yet I have never heard them stutter when playing a character role!  These age-old mysteries are clinically important and can lead research.

Interview with Subbu Chandranathan: a 52 year old IT professional decides to overcome stuttering to enhance his career.  Is 52 too old to eliminate anxiety and begin speaking with exceptional control?  He will tell you how much he has changed in just 4 weeks.

Diego shares his journey with stuttering that included teasing, bullying, and an extended period when Diego avoided talking. 16 year old Diego is a rising high school junior. Diego is now producing podcasts and has big plans for raising his voice for issues dear to him.  Diego tells kids that it is ok to stutter and push back on bullies. He says to speak up in class because what you say is important.

This podcast takes away myths and confusion related to breathing and speech.

Examining the rate or speed of talking: Science and application for pws

Voluntary stuttering: Why do it and how to do it

What is the positive intention of looking away during stuttering and why is reframing that habit an essential goal in therapy?

People who stutter develop specific phobias of words, sounds, and speaking situations.  Learn how the stuttering mind works.

When the attempted solutions become the problem: people who stutter develop a myriad to tricks intended to conceal their stuttering.  How does this work? How can acceptance lead to evolution?