NSA chapter meetings are a great place to meet other people who stutter in your area and participate in peer support. What does this peer support consist of? Peer support consists of many different things like discussing issues or concerns focused around stuttering or people’s attitudes toward stuttering that we may experience at work, home, school, etc. In return, peer support consists of having other people who stutter share their ideas, support, and personal experience or be there to just simply to listen.
It may also mean role playing for a job interview, practicing your speech in front of a group, sharing therapy experiences, discussing how other people view stuttering, learning about new research in regard to stuttering, finding ways to laugh about life situations, or simply sharing the emotions that we all feel in regard to our stuttering. The list of potential topics and activities is practically endless. Our chapters have come up with all kinds of innovative and creative ideas for meetings throughout the years that are shared amongst the chapters. What is so great about support group meetings is that your own ideas and your own needs can be addressed in the meeting right along with your peers. Peer support can be whatever you and your peers want it to be!
Beneath it all, the NSA support group meetings offer an opportunity to talk in a supportive and safe environment with other people who share and understand the road you are walking on. By safe, we mean that you are free throughout the meeting to participate or not participate, and to share only what you feel comfortable with sharing. Will the group sometimes ask you to push your limits? Sure, at times, this is how we grow, but you always have the right to participate at whatever level you feel comfortable with. The meetings can range from being quite serious to lighthearted. The goal is to balance seriousness with fun.
Most people who come, come because they want to find out how other people live, work, play- basically how they address stuttering as part of their lives. Will the support group meetings help you with your stuttering? This really depends on you and where you are at with your stuttering, but many people who attend support group meetings take positive steps both small and large toward feeling better about themselves as people who stutter. This, in turn, can even affect their level of fluency.
If you have any questions about peer support or support group meetings, feel free to contact the NSA at info@WeStutter.org or (800) We Stutter. |
