Are you a speech & language therapist (SLT) or therapy student? We're here to support you in your work with people who stammer, whatever ages you work with.
Whether you're a qualified or student therapist, you're an important part of the stammering community.
We're a broad church here at STAMMA. We back the Stammering Pride movement but we also support those who want to find help for their stammer.
So please become a member — join us and help create a better world for people who stammer. It doesn't cost a thing! Please encourage your clients to do the same — together we're stronger.
How we can help you
SLT Networks
Below are STAMMA-run networks for speech & language therapists :
Leaflets
We have information leaflets for parents, children, young people and adults which you can read and share with others. Download our leaflets or order physical leaflets for free.
Local groups
Adult clients might well find it useful to join a local stammering group. Some welcome SLTs along too.
We've put together a handy list of the local groups in the UK. If there isn't a group in your area, you or others could set one up with our Start A Stammering Community guide.
The STAMMA Support Services
Helpline & Webchat
Our helpline and webchat are open to anyone who supports people who stammer too, so drop us a line if you have a question or want to chat about something. Some of our volunteers are therapists themselves. Both services are open Mondays to Thursdays, 10am-2pm & 4pm-8pm). Or you can email help@stamma.org
Please do encourage your clients to contact us if they want to let off steam after a frustrating day, to tackle fears of using the phone or to practise speech techniques.
Advocacy & Employment Services
Please also encourage clients to contact our Advocacy Service if they mention they've been discriminated against or treated poorly because they stammer.
If they have an issue at work, or need help with job hunting, please guide them to our Employment Service.
Family Support
We also run online support groups for parents, a Minecraft Club for children & teenagers, the odd workshop and an annual family day. See our Family Support page for details.
Participants for research
Are you looking for people to take part in your research or study? Whether you're an SLT student or a researcher, we can help. See Find Research Participants for details.
Other resources
Take a look at this interactive resource About stammering from Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust. It sets out to 'bust myths and highlight evidence-based facts about stammering'. Note: you'll need to set up an account first.
If you're working with teenagers who stammer, you might want to show them a set of animated videos called 'When I Talk, I Stutter'. Produced by the US-based Blank Centre for Stuttering Education & Research, they follow Juell as he experiences other peoples' reactions to his stammer. They then replay, showing different ways Juell responds that empower him while raising stammering awareness.
Professional development
Want to develop your skills with working with people who stammer? Here are some suggestions:
Join the national and/or local clinical excellence networks. The National Dysfluency CEN offers members three study days a year held in different parts of the country.
For details of your local clinical excellence network contact the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Attend a post-graduate course – here's a list of the main UK providers of post-graduate training in stammering therapy:
Become a European Fluency Specialist through the European Clinical Specialisation in Fluency Disorders one-year programme.
Articles from SLTs
Read our articles written by speech & language therapists and SLT students.
- My stammering suit of armour analogy
- Therapy explained through the stammering onion
- Helping to develop a stammering app for parents
- I can't wait to become an SLT and become part of the community
- What do adults who stammer think about therapy?
- Craig's suspected FND journey
- Do girls & women cope differently with stammering than boys & men?
- Speech & language therapists are vastly underappreciated
- Medical vs. social model of disability: It shouldn't be "either-or"
- Working with teenagers who stammer
- Can therapists promote stammering acceptance while also providing therapy?
- Speech therapy in prison: the therapist's story
- Stammering can't stop me
- Taking your child to a therapist: what to expect
- Nursing resilience in children who stammer
- Resilience: the art of bouncing back
- The power of stammering podcasts
Head over to our Your Voice section to read what people affected by stammering are talking about.
Would you like to write an article telling us about your work, studies or giving your opinion on something? You'd be most welcome. See how you can Submit Something For The Site.
Conferences
Conferences are a great way of meeting and learning from people who stammer, researchers and therapists.
Our conference: STAMMAFest
STAMMAFest, the STAMMA National Conference, runs every two years. Register your interest for the next conference on our STAMMAFest site. Or, Become a STAMMA member and we'll keep you updated with forthcoming events.
...Overall, I had a great experience; it was wonderful to engage with such inspirational people, participate in the workshops, socialise and relax in the bar in the evenings, sharing experiences. I'd recommend the conference to all my colleagues with an interest in the complex field of stammering...
An SLT writing about our conference in 2012
International academic conferences
The Oxford Stuttering & Cluttering Research Conference is a great conference to attend if you're a speech & language therapist. You can attend for the whole event or just go for a day - the next one is in September 2025.
The European Clinical Specialisation in Fluency Disorders holds a symposium every two years in Antwerp, Belgium, so not too far from home.
Stuttering: the Croatia Clinical Symposium runs over three days featuring a master class demonstrations. For further information contact: asrc.croatiasymposium@uts.edu.au
International Conference on Stuttering is a three day event in Rome, for researchers and the professionals in the field of assessment and treatment of stammering.
The International Fluency Association organises an international conference every three years in different parts of the world. The next conference will be held in July 2021 in Montreal — better start saving!
book reviews
Reviews of books for speech & language therapists:
'Stammering Resources for Adults & Teenagers: Integrating New Evidence into Clinical Practice', edited by Trudy Stewart (Routledge)
We've also got a list of books for young people and parents. Check out our book review section too.
