Book review: My Stammer and Me

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Speech & Language Therapist (SLT) Hannah Thomas reviews 'My Stammer and Me: Supporting Children and Young People who Stammer', a resource for SLTs on creating group therapy sessions.

'My Stammer and Me: Supporting Children and Young People who Stammer' is an invaluable tool for delivering stammer-affirming group therapy for young people who stammer. Written by Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapists Claire Bull, Amanda Finer and Anna Sowerbutts, it is designed for other SLTs, either stammering specialists or those who are new to the field. 

The book and online materials have a clear structure, starting with an introduction and overview of the five parts, which include 'all about me', 'communication and speech', understanding stammering', 'understanding what helps' and 'speaking out'. The therapy programme is broken down into twelve easy-to-follow group session plans, each containing objectives, key messages to highlight, resources needed, session outlines and a selection of worksheets, games and homework activities.

My Stammer and Me celebrates stammering as a different way of speaking and supports young people to have an increased understanding of their stammer, as well as confidence and knowledge to share information about stammering with others, including what helps them, as they feel ready to.

I'm really excited to use more resources from My Stammer and Me with the young people I work with

The authors have considered multiple areas, including how to measure outcomes of the group support, involving families and carers, involving teachers and how the group could be delivered online. For instance, how it can be delivered flexibly as a one-hour session across twelve weeks, or as a more intensive holiday group. Resources can also be adapted to support children in 1:1 therapy sessions. 

Illustrations are clear, simple and fun. I particularly liked the illustrations and explanations of stammering analogies, eg slipping on ice, quicksand and an iceberg. A young person I recently shared these with was quickly able to understand and relate to the analogies. Session 7 encourages young people to explore their stammer through artwork and shares lots of examples created by inspirational people who stammer. There are many opportunities throughout the programme for young people to hear others who stammer, and I have found it extremely helpful having links to a selection of videos to share with the young people.

There are many themes from the book that I currently incorporate in the therapy I deliver, but My Stammer and Me has brought all of the key elements together into one structured, accessible and practical framework. I'm really excited to use more resources from My Stammer and Me with the young people I work with and will happily recommend it to SLT colleagues who support children and young people who stammer. 

'My Stammer and Me: Supporting Children and Young People who Stammer' by Claire Bull, Amanda Finer and Anna Sowerbutts, is published by Routledge and is available now.

Many thanks to Hannah for reviewing this resource for STAMMA.

For more, see our Resources for Speech & Language Therapists page.