My name is Samuel Sinanan, and I am a person who stutters. I have been a stutterer all my life. This year was the first time I attended a Canadian Stuttering Association (CSA) Conference. My previous experience with the CSA community was attending support meetings held by what was then known as the Calgary Support Group, about four years ago.
Connecting with the Stuttering Community at the Conference
All the presentations at the conference were very informative and interesting. For me the most memorable presentations were the ones where the presenters shared their personal life experiences. I particularly enjoyed the perspectives shared by Bhavna Bakshi, Michel Montreuil and Greg O´Grady. I also enjoyed the documentary “Words Left Unspoken” by Joze Piranian and Josiane Blanc. Hearing their stories, I recalled going through a similar journey, from when I started off thinking, “I really need to fix this,” to acceptance. Growing up, I thought I was the only stutterer in the whole world, and I never had the benefit of support from the wider community, like the CSA or ABC (Association bégaiement communication).
At the conference I was able to meet and connect with the wider community of the CSA and ABC. During the “Meet and Greet” event I met a few people who were attending their first conference as well, and we were able to share stories of stuttering in our personal lives and in the workplace. During lunch I met a few Speech-Language Pathologists and it was great to listen to their perspectives. They attended the conference to find out ways to better support stutterers and their families. I really enjoyed the banquet, the talent show, and dance party.
“Being a Parent Who Stutters” Workshop
On the last day of the conference, I got the opportunity to be part of the “Being a Parent who Stutters” panel discussion. My daughter is 16 and she does not stutter. I never really thought about how being a stutterer impacted the lives of our partners and children. When talking to other parents who stutter I found we all had common experiences, such as letting our partners do most of the talking and ordering food at restaurants, or leading important discussions in household matters. As a dad, I often worried that this had a negative influence on our daughter. I did not know other parents who stuttered also felt this way. Like other members of our community, in our journey to acceptance as parents who stutter, we learn to speak up and appreciate the other positive ways we contribute as a parent. We realize that we are always “a parent” first.
A member of our community asked me if I ever had a conversation with my daughter about my stuttering and it occurred to me that I had not. Just like Joze Piranian in his documentary, I need to have a conversation about this.
Volunteering with the Conference Planning Committee
I had the opportunity to contribute to our community by volunteering with the Conference Planning Committee. It was a tremendous learning experience for me to work with the team that put the conference together. I was inspired by the dedication shown by the team, especially David, Eeva, Alexandra, Carla, Catherine, Jesse, Rawan, Myriam, Audrey and Lisa. There were also a lot of people working behind the scenes.
I understood that this was the first time there was a joint conference between the CSA and the ABC. One of the memorable moments that stood out to me was deciding on the logo for the conference, as there was a lot of discussion around the colours, shapes and themes. I could tell that the conference meant a lot to everyone. Planning an event like this is not easy and as the event date got closer, a lot of attention to detail was required and there were some tense moments, but our team pulled together and was able to bring the conference to fruition.
I met the other conference planning team members face-to-face for the first time at the conference, as all our meetings were held virtually. I also got the opportunity to work at the registration desk, where I was happy to meet so many people from all over Canada, as well as other parts of the world. I am grateful for the opportunity to volunteer for the CSA as it is a great feeling to give back to a community that gives us so much support.
I wished I had more time to sightsee in the beautiful City of Montreal.
I really enjoyed the 2024 CSA conference, and I look forward to next year’s conference.