How can SLPs as a field help the Stuttering population?

by Lori Melnitsky, MA CCC-SLP

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1. Truly Understand Stuttering as More Than Just Disfluency

·       - Recognize the true impact of stuttering: What we hear is only the surface — below are shame, fear, anxiety, and avoidance.

·       - Acknowledge the emotional and cognitive aspects: Therapy must include strategies for fluency, pausing, self-acceptance, desensitization, and communication confidence.

·       - Stay updated: Understand stuttering as a neurodevelopmental difference, not just a behavior to eliminate.

2. Listen More Than We Talk

·       - Honor the person talking and their experience. : No textbook or manual replaces what a person who stutters can teach us.

·       - Ask open-ended questions: Let them define what success means, not us.

·       - Be patient: Let them finish. Interrupting to “help” reinforces the idea that fluency is the goal. Validate.

3. Redefine Success

·       - It’s not only about fluency: For many, success is participating in a class discussion, making a phone call, or saying their name without fear.

·       - Celebrate communication courage: Progress includes reduced avoidance and confidence too.

4. Focus on Functional, Real-Life Communication

·       - Use real-world speaking situations: Ordering coffee, job interviews, class presentations.

·       - Generalize beyond the therapy room:

5. Use Person-Centered, Collaborative Therapy

·       - Let clients lead the goals: They should feel ownership over their therapy, even as a young chld.

·       - Validate and empower: Therapy is a space to build confidence, not just “fix” speech.

·       - Tailor approaches: What works for one person might not for another. That’s okay.

6. Go Beyond the Therapy Room

·       - Educate families, teachers, employers: Advocacy is part of therapy.

·       - Help clients self-advocate: Teach them how to talk about their stuttering, ask for accommodations, and normalize differences.

·       - Create supportive environments: School-aged children especially benefit from peer understanding.

7. Continue Learning

·       - Seek mentorship and specialized training: Stuttering is complex and requires more than a few grad school lectures.

·       - Follow people who stutter on social media and in podcasts: They are the real experts.

·       - Attend stuttering conferences and talk to pws. Listen to my podcast Stuttering DeMystified and Beyond.

8. Believe in Your Clients

·       - See their strengths, not just their stutter.

·       - Hold hope: Many adults and teens report that their therapist’s belief in them changed their life. It is their goals and life. Remember that. I have one or two who encouraged me to be a speech pathologist and to them I am eterenally greatful 

www.allislandspeech.com

#stuttering