Dhruv Gupta, Mark Baer, Reuben Schuff, Chris Constantino and Caryn Herring
Caryn Herring, Christopher Constantino, Mark Baer and Dhruv Gupta join Reuben Schuff at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. They discuss ways to change public perceptions about stuttering such as actively stuttering and grapple with issues such as moving from “stuttering is okay” to “stuttering is fun and pleasant.”
The quote of the episode goes to Mr. Constantino who observes, “I think this is a cool time to be a stutterer.”
Much of the conversation touches upon Mr. Constantino’s powerful keynote address at FRIENDS regarding tearing down walls of ignorance and discrimination. Other topics include urging others who stutter to listen to each other’s experiences with the physical pain and struggle of stuttering. While acknowledging the importance of educating others about stuttering, Caryn points out that she doesn’t want to be responsible for educating society every time she opens her mouth. The team discuss wanting to advocate for others who stutter while also wanting to live and speak with little struggle.
The FRIENDS conference took place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Caryn Herring is a person who stutters and a speech-language pathologist, currently pursuing her PhD at The University of Pittsburgh. Caryn is also an adjunct clinical instructor at Duquesne University, supervising graduate students and teaching the Stuttering Course. She is an active member of numerous stuttering organizations.
Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters, a StutterTalk host and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.
Reuben Schuff is an author and roving host for StutterTalk. By profession and passion he is an aerospace engineer, and also, a traveler, a juggler, a Toastmaster, and a person who stutters. He is a workshop presenter for the National Stuttering Association (NSA) annual conference and is the co-founder of the Raleigh Teens Who Stutter (TWST) chapter of the NSA. Reuben also facilitates and presents with FRIENDS (the National Organization for Young People who Stutter). Reuben is author of the chapter Fluency: My Untrustworthy Friend in the StutterTalk book: Stuttering: Inspiring Stories and Professional Wisdom.
Dhruv Gupta is a sustainability advisor at cBalance, a volunteer with The Indian Stammering Association, and the founder of Speak: Stammering Foundation. In 2015, Dhruv facilitated a two day FRIENDS workshop in India and has appeared a number of times on StutterTalk.
Mark Baer is a speech-language pathologist at Sisskin Stuttering Center and for the District of Columbia Public Schools. He earned his M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Memphis. Mark is a person who stutters and an active member of the National Stuttering Association.
Brad Mills joins Chris Constantino at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. Mr. Mills shares that he is attending the 2016 FRIENDS Convention for his daughter who stutters and ended up finding support for his own stuttering as well.
Other topics include watching children have fun while learning to accept stuttering and observing attendees embracing their stuttering at FRIENDS. Mr. Mills discusses going back to school to become a teacher despite his stuttering and shares with Chris that this StutterTalk interview is the most he has ever spoken openly about stuttering. Brad shares, “When you’ve been closed for 39 years it is hard to just open up” and goes on to discuss the relief of acknowledging your stutter for the first time.
The FRIENDS conference takes place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Brad Mills is a high school science teacher from Somerville, Ohio attending FRIENDS for the first time with his family because his daughter is stuttering. Brad also stutters.
Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters, a StutterTalk host and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.
Nick and David, both 17 years old, join Caryn Herring at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. They discuss the pressure to be like other people and how FRIENDS supports people who stutter and their families in facing such challenges.
Other topics include occupations for people who stutter, the role of siblings and parents in stuttering support and working on doing a better job of not hiding stuttering.
The FRIENDS conference takes place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Caryn Herring is a person who stutters and a speech-language pathologist, currently pursuing her PhD at The University of Pittsburgh. Caryn is also an adjunct clinical instructor at Duquesne University, supervising graduate students and teaching the Stuttering Course. She is an active member of numerous stuttering organizations.
Josette Tugander, a young woman who stutters, and her mother Juliette Tugander join Caryn Herring at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. They discuss taking down stuttering walls and being aware of the walls we build.
Other topics include the power of stuttering support, how people who stutter inspire each other at FRIENDS to be brave with stuttering and the important stuttering moments which happen outside of the workshops at FRIENDS. Josette and Caryn share how helpful it has been seeing peers and role models who stutter face stuttering challenges.
Josette shares the experience of attending a FRIENDS convention when she was in high school and being inspired by a college student who discussed the importance of telling your roommate about stuttering. Now in college herself, Josette shares how open she is about her own stuttering in college and that her friends and roommates are even in the room sometimes during her Skype speech therapy sessions.
The FRIENDS conference takes place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Caryn Herring is a person who stutters and a speech-language pathologist, currently pursuing her PhD at The University of Pittsburgh. Caryn is also an adjunct clinical instructor at Duquesne University, supervising graduate students and teaching the Stuttering Course. She is an active member of numerous stuttering organizations.
Eddie Samp joins Reuben Schuff at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. Mr. Samp discusses his lifelong struggle with “being okay with the way I speak” and how FRIENDS has become a second family.
The FRIENDS conference takes place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Eddie Samp is a 26 year old person who stutters, lives in Boston, and works in investment management. Eddie has been involved with FRIENDS since he was 7 years old. Mr. Samp returned this year to the FRIENDS convention to reconnect with friends and to give back support to the stuttering community.
Reuben Schuff is an author and roving host for StutterTalk. By profession and passion he is an aerospace engineer, and also, a traveler, a juggler, a Toastmaster, and a person who stutters. He is a workshop presenter for the National Stuttering Association (NSA) annual conference and is the co-founder of the Raleigh Teens Who Stutter (TWST) chapter of the NSA. Reuben also facilitates and presents with FRIENDS (the National Organization for Young People who Stutter). Reuben is author of the chapter Fluency: My Untrustworthy Friend in the StutterTalk book: Stuttering: Inspiring Stories and Professional Wisdom.
Mary McLoughlin joins Chris Constantino at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter to discuss the power of vulnerability, what we gain by stuttering freely and how stuttering leads to intimate and meaningful relationships with other people. Ms. McLoughlin explains that she keeps returning to FRIENDS conventions because “I couldn’t be in better company.”
Other topics include the value of stuttered communication, stuttering freely and openly, meeting people who stutter with confidence and positivity, taking ownership of stuttering, how stuttering voices create spaces for intimacy and vulnerability, using voluntary stuttering to ground communication and much more.
The FRIENDS conference takes place July 28-30 in Columbus, Ohio.
Mary McLoughlin is from Long Island, New York and will be a student at the University of Dayton starting this fall. She plans on majoring in English. This is her third FRIENDS conference.
Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters, a StutterTalk host and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.
StutterTalk® is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to talking openly about stuttering. StutterTalk is the first and longest running podcast on stuttering. Since 2007 we have published more than 700 podcasts which are heard in 180 countries.
1 Aug 2016
This is a Cool Time to be a Stutterer (Ep. 593)
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Caryn Herring, Christopher Constantino, Mark Baer and Dhruv Gupta join Reuben Schuff at the 2016 annual convention of FRIENDS: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. They discuss ways to change public perceptions about stuttering such as actively stuttering and grapple with issues such as moving from “stuttering is okay” to “stuttering is fun and pleasant.”
The quote of the episode goes to Mr. Constantino who observes, “I think this is a cool time to be a stutterer.”
Much of the conversation touches upon Mr. Constantino’s powerful keynote address at FRIENDS regarding tearing down walls of ignorance and discrimination. Other topics include urging others who stutter to listen to each other’s experiences with the physical pain and struggle of stuttering. While acknowledging the importance of educating others about stuttering, Caryn points out that she doesn’t want to be responsible for educating society every time she opens her mouth. The team discuss wanting to advocate for others who stutter while also wanting to live and speak with little struggle.
The FRIENDS conference took place July 28-30 in Columbus. Ohio.
Caryn Herring is a person who stutters and a speech-language pathologist, currently pursuing her PhD at The University of Pittsburgh. Caryn is also an adjunct clinical instructor at Duquesne University, supervising graduate students and teaching the Stuttering Course. She is an active member of numerous stuttering organizations.
Christopher Constantino is a person who stutters, a StutterTalk host and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis. Chris is doing his clinical fellowship in the Shelby County Schools in Memphis and is conducting a research study to understand and contextualize the experiences of passing as fluent for people who covertly stutter.
Reuben Schuff is an author and roving host for StutterTalk. By profession and passion he is an aerospace engineer, and also, a traveler, a juggler, a Toastmaster, and a person who stutters. He is a workshop presenter for the National Stuttering Association (NSA) annual conference and is the co-founder of the Raleigh Teens Who Stutter (TWST) chapter of the NSA. Reuben also facilitates and presents with FRIENDS (the National Organization for Young People who Stutter). Reuben is author of the chapter Fluency: My Untrustworthy Friend in the StutterTalk book: Stuttering: Inspiring Stories and Professional Wisdom.
Dhruv Gupta is a sustainability advisor at cBalance, a volunteer with The Indian Stammering Association, and the founder of Speak: Stammering Foundation. In 2015, Dhruv facilitated a two day FRIENDS workshop in India and has appeared a number of times on StutterTalk.
Mark Baer is a speech-language pathologist at Sisskin Stuttering Center and for the District of Columbia Public Schools. He earned his M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Memphis. Mark is a person who stutters and an active member of the National Stuttering Association.