Lorraine: “I’ve loved attending the Open Space sessions. Mostly I’ve really enjoyed meeting people from different walks of life and being able to openly discuss some of the issues I face as a person who stammers. I was anxious about attending at first and think I found it difficult to identify myself as someone who stammers … Read more
As the end of our MSc Speech and Language Sciences course at UCL was fast approaching, and many people were starting to realise that we will all soon have to face reality again, Cathy and Sam’s visit was a welcome reminder of the importance of self-care in our future profession. As a student on placement, … Read more
Throughout our MSc in Speech and Language Sciences at UCL we have been trained to use active listening. It’s a key clinical skill. As trainee SLTs we listen when we collaborate with clients to take case histories. But these are often about a snapshot in time. What happens when clients complete assessment and intervention? How … Read more
One afternoon, whilst speaking to my closest friend Errin Yesilkaya, we wanted to do something. Just something. An exhibition sprung to mind, then I must have stammered shortly after this revelation. There we have it. Judged Response, an exhibition which places explicit focus on stammering, celebrating the differences of those people who stammer, demonstrating these … Read more
If someone had said to me few years ago that I would one day write a blog about something I am extremely conscious of, I would have laughed out loud! But here I am and this means a big step for me. As long as I can remember, I have always stammered. I remember when … Read more
I must admit I arrived with a little apprehension, this was the first time I had attended a public event related to stammering. I was aware that I was wearing two hats, as a person who stammers and a psychologist who has a special interest in working with PWS. The opening remarks by Mark Malcomson … Read more
Disclosing one’s stammer is easy they say… vital I say. In fact it is very much a technique I subscribe to, use frequently and encourage others to try. Imagine going into a stressful situation, an interview for example; walk through the door, friendly handshake, introductions gone well, half way through the first question, BLOCK. No … Read more
I have been fortunate in my career to have some really excellent supervision, but all too often I hear from colleagues that the service they work in does not offer quality supervision. I regularly hear that for many it becomes a tick box managerial function, concentrating more on the doing of therapy rather than the … Read more
When I say to people sometimes that I see my stammering as a positive in my life, they can find it a strange notion. Normally people can only envisage stammering as a negative concept. My stammering is my natural pattern of speech, and having a stammer does not limit my speech nor hinder my conversations. … Read more
This month Sam is guest blogger for the Did I Stutter? Project – you may read her blog here