Getting Out of Our Comfort Zones - NSA Information Table
The Lafayette Louisiana Chapter of NSA scheduled an information table on the University of Louisiana campus on International Stuttering Awareness Day, October 22. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate so we were forced to reschedule the table for November 12. The event was a huge success. The weather was beautiful, temperature in the upper 60s to low 70s, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky. Jill and Lauren created wonderful posters with facts and myths about stuttering. Lizzy, a first time attendee of the National Conference this year, could not attend the table but she baked delicious cookies to attract attention of the starving students. Participants at the table included five person’s who stutter (Lauren, Landon, Al, Eric, and myself), two SLPs (John & Jill), and a graduate student in the Communication Disorders Department. This was our third time setting up the information table in the last 13 months, and while the other two were very worthwhile (we found Lizzy and Landon at the last one), this time was particularly rewarding. This was the first time that we included visual props and food, and this made a big difference. I think we felt much more comfortable in approaching people when we had something to clearly offer, and I think they were also more likely to unguardedly allow us to engage them in conversation. This really maximized our ability to educate the public. Jill and Lauren’s posters were interactive, with a ‘myth about stuttering’ written on a folded sheet of paper such as “Stuttering is caused by nervousness.” The person could then lift the paper and see the fact, “Nervousness does not cause stuttering, but it can aggravate it.” We were very effective this time around at educating the students. In addition, a person who stutters approached us and is very keen to attend our next support group meeting. I think he will follow through. I suspect that we may have also met a couple of other people who stutter but for whatever reason didn’t say so. Maybe we planted a seed in their thoughts. I strongly suggest this activity for other support groups. In addition to being a great way to reach others who stutter and educate the public, it is a great way for us to get out of our comfort zones, advertise our stutter, and find a purpose in our stutter.
The Lafayette Louisiana Chapter of NSA scheduled an information table on the University of Louisiana campus on International Stuttering Awareness Day, October 22. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate so we were forced to reschedule the table for November 12. The event was a huge success. The weather was beautiful, temperature in the upper 60s to low 70s, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky. Jill and Lauren created wonderful posters with facts and myths about stuttering. Lizzy, a first time attendee of the National Conference this year, could not attend the table but she baked delicious cookies to attract attention of the starving students. Participants at the table included five person’s who stutter (Lauren, Landon, Al, Eric, and myself), two SLPs (John & Jill), and a graduate student in the Communication Disorders Department. This was our third time setting up the information table in the last 13 months, and while the other two were very worthwhile (we found Lizzy and Landon at the last one), this time was particularly rewarding. This was the first time that we included visual props and food, and this made a big difference. I think we felt much more comfortable in approaching people when we had something to clearly offer, and I think they were also more likely to unguardedly allow us to engage them in conversation. This really maximized our ability to educate the public. Jill and Lauren’s posters were interactive, with a ‘myth about stuttering’ written on a folded sheet of paper such as “Stuttering is caused by nervousness.” The person could then lift the paper and see the fact, “Nervousness does not cause stuttering, but it can aggravate it.” We were very effective this time around at educating the students. In addition, a person who stutters approached us and is very keen to attend our next support group meeting. I think he will follow through. I suspect that we may have also met a couple of other people who stutter but for whatever reason didn’t say so. Maybe we planted a seed in their thoughts. I strongly suggest this activity for other support groups. In addition to being a great way to reach others who stutter and educate the public, it is a great way for us to get out of our comfort zones, advertise our stutter, and find a purpose in our stutter.