Online via Zoom
Acceptance and self-acceptance are often mentioned as ways of coping with stuttering. For some, acceptance means “throwing in the towel” and conceding defeat to their stutter. For others, accepting their stutter helps them focus on what they can control and may provide relief from the anxiety of trying to hide their stutter.
So, what does it mean to accept stuttering and how is it lived? How does one come to accept stuttering and oneself as a person who stutters? How is self-acceptance challenged in daily conversation? Does speech therapy pave or hinder the way to acceptance?
Join us for an interactive workshop where three panelists will share their perspective and personal experience on acceptance, each from different backgrounds. You will be invited to share your own perspective, experience and insights for a stimulating and lively discussion. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about acceptance and its benefits.
Panelists
Ben Goldstein
Ben Goldstein is a person who stutters, speech-language therapist and stuttering consultant for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, USA, and an associate clinician at the Sisskin Stuttering Center in the Washington D.C. area. He is also an adjunct professor at Gallaudet University, teaching the graduate level stuttering course. Ben has presented on Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering (ARTS®) at international and national conferences, speech therapy graduate school programs, and to school-based speech therapists in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Greg O'Grady
Greg O’Grady is a professional covert stutterer. This self-selected introduction serves to remind himself about years of wasted attempts to chase the false god of fluency as he obstinately refused to accept a severe stutter. As a thank you to the Speech and Stuttering Institute (Toronto) where he received speech therapy, Greg started the A Million Things I Need to Say 1K/5K Walk, Run and Roll for Stuttering Awareness and Fundraiser, which he duplicated in Newfoundland, his home province, following retirement from the City of Toronto. Greg is co-founder of the Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association (NSLA), hosts successful podcasts and a live radio show, all dedicated to stuttering. Greg is writing a memoir to better understand his life and to examine why it unfolded in the way it did.
Joshua St Pierre
Joshua St Pierre (PhD) is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Critical Disability Studies, and Principle Investigator of the Stuttering Commons. Dr. St. Pierre’s research seeks to make interventions on both theoretical and practical fronts. Working at the intersection of dysfluency studies, critical disability studies, and contemporary political theory, his research focuses on the interplay of communication and disability within information societies. His work also seeks to conceptualize and generate resources for radically accessible and hospitable communicative practices. His first monograph is titled Cheap Talk: Disability and the Politics of Communication, published by University of Michigan Press.