Stuttering is Cool

Episode #256: Recorded live during the StutterFest 2021, Stephanie Lebsack joins me in sharing some of the comics her SLP students drew depicting their understanding of what “overcoming” stuttering means. Note the quotes as I’m not referring to achieving fluency or being “fixed” (there are those quotes again). Stephanie’s philosophy for speech therapy is “...

Episode #255: I want you to hear me even if I stutter. Those are the words of Ciarra McFarland, self-proclaimed student of life, my guest on this episode. I recently met Ciarra in a stuttering room on Clubhouse where a woman mentioned how she doesn’t talk around certain people because of her stutter. Ciarra encouraged her by saying that our voice has value no matter what. I just had to have...

Episode #254: I chat with Rutger Wilhelm, author of Too Fast For Words: How discovering that I don’t stutter but clutter changed my life . Rutger had recently discovered that his lifelong understanding of the way he talked wasn’t stuttering after all but cluttering. While people who stutter know what they want to say but struggle to get their words out, people who clutter struggle with formu...

Episode #253: “You’re going to have to wait for all my brilliant ideas!” That’s one of the many catch phrases of Nina G , a comedian who stutters and my returning guest on this episode. Recorded live during the Canadian Stuttering Association virtual conference, I ask Nina G about her book, Stutterer Interrupted: The Making of a Stuttering Stand Up Comedian , growing up wit...

Episode #252: Wether you want to get rid of your stuttering or not, this one’s for you! Patrick Campbell, co-editor of the Stammering Pride and Prejudice book, and Grant Meredith, lecturer from Federation University, join me in a thought provoking conversation about acceptance, the stuttering pride movement, diversity, stuttering openly for awareness, and much more. Our main consensus is we...

Episode #251: I chat with Cynthia Dacillo, an SLP living in Peru who treats people who stutter and their families. On this episode, Cynthia and I chat about how she uses my Franky Banky comics in therapy sessions and about the stuttering community in Peru and across South America and the Spanish-speaking world. Cynthia had interviewed me for her video series earlier this summer so I thought it wou...

Episode #250: GASP! Fluency! How did a word that’s used in universities, science, speech-language pathology circles, to describe stuttering, cluttering, and other communication – if you pardon the expression – disorders (GASP!) grow to become a traumatic word to some? Hint: from well-meaning people throughout our lives punishing us for not speaking fluently, or speech language pathologists f...

Episode #249: Stammer but with love. That is the motto of The Indian Stammering Association, or TISA for short. TISA’s Bhupendra Singh Rathore and Dhruv Gupta had interviewed me in a video entitled, The Story Behind the Comic , to talk about my stuttering journey and Franky Banky comics. They kindly gave me permission to include the audio from our chat for this episode. But first, it’s...

Episode #248: Be a fly on the wall as I chat with Annie Bradberry, board member of the National Stuttering Association (NSA), Stutter Social host, and a long list of other activities she does for the global stuttering community the day after the NSA@Home Conference which took place online from July 7 to 10, 2020. Despite a collective disappointment across organizers, veteran attendees, and first t...

A new podcast about stuttering that has nothing to do with stuttering! A group of people gather around a table every month and chat nonsense. Some of those people stutter. It’s a very clever way to raise stuttering awareness while having a good laugh. That podcast, Oh and on that note… , is produced in association with the Scottish Stammering Network providing a platform for people who stutt...

Episode #246: What you say is important, not how you say. I chat with French filmmaker Melissa Bronsart , creator of the documentary, L’Êloquence du bégiament , also known as The Eloquence of Stuttering. Created in partnership with the Association Parole Bégaiement (the stuttering association in France), Mélissa takes us along the journey of people who stutter as they prepare and compete in...

Episode #245: Instachat! Being cooped up in isolation to help fight the spread of covid-19 opened up opportunties for me to try new things. Such as live streaming on Instagram. Near the end of March, I chatted with artist Willemjin, who runs the @juststutter Instagram account full of comics she drew based on her everyday stuttering experiences. We talk about her art, covid lockdown, and… stutterin...

The song Franky Banky sings as he washes his hands for 20 seconds. Episode #244: Keep your distance. Wash Your Hands. Don’t touch your face. And keep in touch over the Internet. We’re in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic with many countries in lockdown and people staying inside in doing their part for preventing the spread of the virus that has circled the globe like wildfire and caus...

Episode #243: How do you engage child clients? Be a clown! I chat with Erik X. Raj, Ph. D. CCC-SLP , stuttering researcher , app maker , rock star , podcaster – is there anything he doesn’t do? – about being a “clownician”. From playing Fortnite or Minecraft, to using his apps to make funny photos or activity sheets where the child is the star, Erik shares his methods of using hu...

Episode #242: Difference not defect. All about the book that challenges the stereotype that stuttering is bad instead of a way of speaking that is different, valuable, and respected. Stammering Pride and Prejudice: Difference not Defect features a variety of voices and opinions on stuttering from a social model perspective through 22 essays written for people who stutter, the general public, and p...

Episode #241: If you are a parent of a child or teen who stutters, you’ll definitely want to listen! On this episode, I’ll be chatting with Dori Holte, mother of a young adult who has stuttered since he was a toddler. She is also the author of the book “ Voice Unearthed — Hope, Help, and a Wake-Up-Call for the Parents of Children Who Stutter ”. That title pretty much sums up this episo...

Episode #240: We are staaaaaaaaaamily! Stamily is a new, multi-platform network of people who stutter all around the world. Get instant access to a supportive community no matter where you are. Join me as I speak with a few active regulars in the Stamily community. A few? Hear from Willemjin Bolks, Jurjen de Jong, Vinnie De Craim, Marc van Krakinger, Satu Nygren, and Natalie Park across a number o...

Episode #239: “We can do this. We are strong. We are in this together.” Those are the encouraging words from a listener who stutters in Kenya who submitted audio for this episode! I also cover what me and Franky Banky have been up to since October, I give a quick review of the Canadian Stuttering Association ‘s one-day conference, and… drink a glass of water. Links mentione...

Episode #238: I’m back in Montreal for the Association bégaiement communication (ABC) annual conference! It’s a very special conference for me as it was also the launch of the French version of my book, Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World ! Join me in my conversations with: Claire Norman , founder and director of of Stammerers Through University Consultanc...

Episode #237: The most effective stuttering awareness campaign I have ever seen! I chat with Jane Powell, CEO of the British Stammering Association, about the brilliantly clever STAMMA awareness campaign recently launched across the United Kingdom. Learn how the campaign aims to change misperceptions about stuttering (or stammering, as it’s known in the UK and other parts of the world), it&#...

Episode #236: I chat with director, Ryan Gielen , about his latest documentary, My Beautiful Stutter , which follows five young people from ages 8 to 18 who stutter and come from diverse backgrounds all around the United States as they participate in programs with The Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY). After attending a SAY gala and witnessing the empowerment of young people getting up on...

(Audio transcript available upon request) Nina G, myself, and friends in Iceland admiring her book Episode #235: Stand up comedian, Nina G , joins me to talk about… well, a lot of things! We have an animated chat about her new book, “ Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen ” and her excellent keynote given at the World Stuttering Congress in Iceland this yea...

Episode #234: What a pity people can’t swap problems, when so many know how to solve others’. Also, disfluency isn’t a failure. You are not a failure. Failure is an event. In fact, there are no failures. Only life lessons. Stuttering is not something you caused. These are the wise words from Anita Blom, my guest on this episode. Anita gave one of three keynotes at the Internation...

Including and educating researchers, empowering children who stutter, and being a “clownician” were a few of what was presented and discussed at the 13th International Stuttering Congress held in Hveragerði, Iceland on June 22 to 27, 2019. There were about 165 attendees from over 20 countries including yours truly. I felt an enthusiastic vibe that lived up to the congress’ theme of “Embrace Your S...

Episode #232: Are we doing enough to raise stuttering awareness outside our community? On this episode, I share a number of unfortunate incidents which happened in March – a sexist tote bag offensive to people who stutter sold at a speech pathology conference in California; two of my friends were laughed at a fast food restaurant and doctor’s office and educating about their stuttering; stut...