A Summary of the November Virtual Adult Group
We had eight attendees, three of whom were first timers! It was also their first time joining in on any stuttering group, so that was great. We had participants in the US from the east coast all the way to California. One attendee was in Brisbane, Australia! We talked about what acceptance is and what it is not. Accpetance doesn’t mean you have to like it. It doesn’t mean there isn’t struggle or that stuttering doesn’t bother you at times. We talked about how acceptance of ourselves is a lifelong journey that doesn’t have an end point. We then discussed the parts of stuttering that can be very frustrating (not wanting to take up someone’s time, people misunderstanding you and thinking you are rude for not talking or not saying “thank you,” etc). We talked about how maybe we also have to stop expecting the “perfect listener.” Maybe we project sometimes. A listener who is distracted and not maintaining eye contact may actually do that with everyone, for example. Everyone participated and spoke in the group and shared some of their interests/hobbies.
— Allison Ladavat on facilitating the November 14th Adult Group