The USF chapter of the National Stuttering Association has made contact with hundreds of local adults who stutter and continues to grow on-campus since its first support meeting was held on Sept. 19, 2007.
The group, co-hosted by Nathan Maxfield, PhD, CCC-SLP, associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, meets the third Wednesday of each month in the USF Speech-Language Clinic with the aim to help group members develop a fresh perspective on stuttering.
Stuttering affects 1% of the adult population. In addition to communication challenges, stuttering poses social, emotional, and cognitive challenges for many. Support meetings provide a safe outlet for adults who stutter to talk candidly about their experiences. While members are diverse, the challenges of coping with stuttering bring them together and camaraderie is high.
Group members have hosted outreach events for children who stutter and engage with the broader community to raise awareness about stuttering. The group welcomes USF students studying speech-language pathology, providing future clinicians opportunities to make contact, and often visits the department's Advanced Fluency Disorders classes to share their experiences with stuttering.