Local groups move online to beat isolation

23rd March 2020

With everyone socially distancing at the moment, several local stammering groups are moving their meetings online to stay in touch.

Groups in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife run by the Scottish Stammering Network will be meeting via video call, with the firt meeting on Tuesday 31st March from 7:30pm. Follow them on Twitter for updates using @stammerscotland. 

The Doncaster group, run by Bob Adams, is having its first virtual group tomorrow evening (Tuesday 24th March) for members only (see contact details here). 

We still felt a connection within the group even though it wasn’t a face to face meeting. Something which I thought would be totally lost. 

Wendy, the Grimsby & Cleethorpes group

One group has already had its very first virtual meeting. The Grimsby and Cleethorpes Stammering Support Group, 'Celebrate Talk', all met up online last Friday evening. Organiser Wendy Ronaldson said, "We used the platform Zoom, which is really easy to download and can be used on a desktop computer, laptop or phone.

'We welcomed a new member to the group session, all the way from France under self-isolation, a French connection. The meeting went really well. The video and audio was really clear with various options for video screen size sharing, so all the members are visible if they wish. We delivered virtual speaking circles, which for one member was her first time. She felt unsure at first as didn’t know what to expect but after chatting about how speaking circles worked she was much more relaxed and felt confident enough to join in and is now looking forward to our next virtual meeting.

We all enjoyed the meeting and even though it was a virtual platform we still felt a connection within the group even though it wasn’t a face to face meeting. Something which I thought would be totally lost. 

Our next virtual meeting is on the 17th April, 6.30pm-8.30pm. The theme is a 'Laughing and Doodling Session'. Join our Facebook Support Group and we'll keep you updated."

If you want to join in, see our full list of Local Groups and use the contact details to see if they plan to meet online. If you run a group and want help setting up a virtual meeting using Zoom, email editor@stamma.org and we'll talk you through it.

Stutter Social is another option - it runs international meetings using Google Hangouts. See their website here to find out when they next meet.