No Fixing Required: My Stutter is My Pride

Ryan Cowley

Sunday 2:45PM - 3:45PM EST

Personal Story

Pearson

Ryan will discuss his change from a covert stutter to learning to embrace his stutter. He will discuss a particular turning point in his life that allowed him to garner the confidence to conduct phone interviews in his role as a sports writer and commentator, and also become a public speaker and advocate. In particular, Ryan has spoken to SLP and Communication Disorders programs across the United States (and some in Canada), sharing his experiences as a Person Who Stutters with professors and future SLPs. Overall,Ryan would have rather embraced his stutter at an earlier age, but better late than never! He loves the feeling of making a difference to so many people, and will discuss ways he has made even more of a difference in some cases than he thought he could.

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What to expect

To the kids and teens who stutter and their parents, I’m hoping to encourage, and even inspire, them to embrace their stutter, not to hide it, and better yet, not to focus on “fixing” it. After all, unlike what I was taught at an early age, there is nothing “wrong” with stuttering. To the adults and SLPs, I’m hoping to have them embrace empathy. Be as empathetic as you can to those who do stutter. Give them patience and understanding, and most of all, don’t make them feel less if they do need more time getting their words out. To everyone, I’m hoping they can take something positive away from my workshop and, depending on their roles, either be more inspired or more conscientious. Heck, maybe even both and beyond.

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About the presenter