A Summary of the October Virtual Adult Group
We talked a lot about stuttering awareness and acceptance tonight. We discussed how to disclose our stuttering so that we present our most confident selves. If we start off apologizing for stuttering, that doesn’t portray the most confident version; whereas if we use more of a statement that we stutter and tell the speaker they can ask us any questions or ask us to repeat ourselves if needed, that portrays a level of confidence and shows we are comfortable being a person who stutters. We acknowledged that if we don’t bring up our stuttering, others may not be comfortable asking us questions about it and we miss a chance to educate people. We also had a meaningful discussion about covert vs overt stuttering and the different struggles each group experiences. We are all working towards the common goal to stutter openly while being our most authentic selves.
— Aileen Rife on facilitating the October 10th Adult Group