Who Defines Stuttering? How? Why?

The definition of stuttering has changed constantly over the years - and the connotations of the definition feel different between people who stutter and those who don't. So what does it actually mean to stutter? Is graduate school always giving up and coming speech therapists an accurate depiction?

Host Ezra Horak, stutterer, and guest Nicole Kulmaczewski, CCC-SLP, push back against traditional medical definitions (like the one found on mayoclinic), and then end up pushing back against one another (but it's OK, they forgive each other). Aiming to approach the implications various definitions may have, the two advocate for inclusivity and a deeper comprehension of the stuttering experience.

GUEST

Nicole Kulmaczewski, CCC-SLP is the Deputy Director of MySpeech (https://myspeechhub.org) and a speech therapist in New York. Nicole is passionate about advocacy and spreading stuttering awareness through social media posts, continuing education, and day to day life. Her email is [e-mail]

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FOOTNOTES/REFERENCES:

1. Tichenor, S. E., & Yaruss, J. S. (2019). Stuttering as Defined by Adults Who Stutter. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 62(12), 4356–4369. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00137
2. MayoClinic's (shameful) definition of stuttering - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stuttering/symptoms-causes/syc-20353572
3. ASHA's definition of stuttering - https://www.asha.org/stuttering/
4. Marc Winski's tiktok referenced in this episode: https://www.tiktok.com/@marcwinski/video/7317281688491478315
5. Find more about Ryan Cowley at https://ryanacowley.com/ and book him for your classroom, listen to his podcast, and/or get a copy of his book
6. Stuttering Iceberg - podcast episode from 2022 - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5y1ZuJHZBuctScFY9Fx9gJ?si=a6e2db2c561d467f

Further Reading:

• Yaruss, J. S., & Quesal, R. W. (2004). Stuttering and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: an update. Journal of communication disorders, 37(1), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9924(03)00052-2

• Tichenor, S. E., Herring, C., & Yaruss, J. S. (2022). Understanding the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering Can Improve Stuttering Therapy. Topics in language disorders, 42(1), 57–75. https://doi.org/10.1097/tld.0000000000000272

• Advice to Those Who Stutter, chapter 6 written by Joseph Sheehan: https://www.stutteringhelp.org/message-stutterer

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Intro music is an edited excerpt of: "The Crawl of Life" jaspertine ccmixter.org, 4.0 CC BY license

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Post-production edits by DJ Liiam,