One of the highly dreaded, yet very rewarding, activities that I do with some of my clients is "advertising." Of course every student (and parent) begins speech therapy in hopes of reducing the frequency and severity of stuttering. However, equally as important in any PWS (person who stutters) treatment plan should be to become their own advocate and "advertise" themselves as a person who stutters. You can't ALWAYS control your disfluencies, but you CAN help your communication partners understand stuttering and teach them ways to best assist you! And as a bonus, advertising reduces the tension associated with thinking "am I going to stutter?" "when am I going to stutter?", "will they notice my stuttering?" etc. etc. etc. Advertising can be as simple as saying "Just so you know sometimes I stutter, so please give me a few extra seconds to get out what I have to say." Without that built up tension, you are open to speak freely and often more fluently!
Check this video out of a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance?" who openly advertises about his stuttering. He clearly tells judges what helps him and makes him feel most comfortable (although most PWS may disagree with what he asks the judges to do...to each his own! ) This is a great example of how to advertise yourself as a person who stutters and let it inspire you rather than define you!
Check this video out of a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance?" who openly advertises about his stuttering. He clearly tells judges what helps him and makes him feel most comfortable (although most PWS may disagree with what he asks the judges to do...to each his own! ) This is a great example of how to advertise yourself as a person who stutters and let it inspire you rather than define you!
Share with us your stories of how you advertised!
