News | Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START)

Happy International Stuttering Awareness Week – how are we celebrating?

It only comes around once a year – International Stuttering Awareness Day on the 22nd of October. This year it falls on Sunday , meaning we get to celebrate all long weekend!

But how exactly are we celebrating? This years’ theme for International Stuttering Awareness Day is “a world that understands stuttering”, a theme we really believe in. To help further this cause, we have put together a fantastic book featuring art, poetry, and essays from many talented Kiwi kids who stutter.

These kids have created some incredible pieces that discuss triumph and failure, excitement, friendship, bullying, and everything in between. They have unique experiences as kids who stutter, and because of this, each child has something different to say. We truly believe that by reading this book, you will understand stuttering on a deeper level – so the more people who read it, the faster we can reach our goal!

This book also features some interesting facts about stuttering, as well as tips for talking with people who stutter.

This book, titled ‘My Stutter’, will retail for $20, the profits of which will be directly used to help us support more people who stutter around the country.

If you would like to purchase ‘My Stutter’, you can find it on our shop page here: www.stuttering.co.nz/shop/

Why mental health should be a focus for people who stutter

Mental health is an important issue for everyone, and something everyone should be actively working to improve and look after for themselves – but it’s even more important for those who have disorders that may cause certain emotions and have various negative effects on their self-esteem or outlook.

Today kicks of Mental Health Awareness Week, and to do our bit for the New Zealand community, we’ll be looking at why people who stutter can often have mental health issues, as well as advice for how to combat this.

Here at START we firmly believe that those who stutter can be just as confident and outgoing as those who don’t, and we’ve seen many wonderful clients who have gone on to have amazing careers in the spotlight, whether that be on the stage, in debates, or as strong speakers in their industry. Stuttering is a disorder that stems from the neural processing area of the brain that controls speech – it has no effect on a person’s intelligence.

Nevertheless, for many people who stutter it can feel daunting to speak, and many social scenarios are made difficult – and this can have an adverse effect on mental health. Anxiety is a common issue for people who stutter, who may find speaking causes anxiety and stress, which can often exacerbate into wider issues. Anxiety and depression often follow each other, and when either goes unchecked things can become serious.

For people who stutter, and the people who know them, it’s important to foster an environment that encourages personal expression and communication. If you know someone who stutters it’s important you don’t speak over them, try to finish their sentences for them, or generally appear hurried for them to finish what they are saying. Actions such as these can worsen anxiety and make communicating an unpleasant experience for the person who stutters.

If you yourself stutter, let people know about resources they can look into that will help them understand better. Sharing this blog post on Facebook is a great start, and bringing it up in conversation can help people who care about you to understand what is appropriate and helpful.

It’s also important to look after yourself, and pay attention to how you’re feeling. If you are starting to feel anxious – which comes in many forms, but can manifest in shaking hands, tight chest, fast heartbeat, uncommon breathing, or fidgetiness and a lack of concentration – then it’s important to speak to your speech language therapist or your GP about how you can combat this. Seeking help can be daunting, but anxiety often goes hand in hand with stuttering so it should be looked after as well. As anxiety can often lead to depression it’s important to take necessary steps to look after yourself.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and if you need anyone to speak to then please don’t hesitate to call the following hotlines, or look into the following websites:

Lifeline: 0800 543 354

Youthline: 0800 376 633

Samaritans: 0800 726 666

Help us create “A World That Understands Stuttering”

This years’ theme for International Stuttering Awareness Day is ‘A world that understands stuttering’ – and here at START we think this is an incredibly important message to send.
In order to achieve this, we have the goal to create a world-class book of youth and children’s’ poetry, artwork, and writing that expresses what their individual and unique experiences are as a young person who stutters.
We can’t do this ourselves though, which is why we need you! We need young people and children who stutter to share their thoughts and experiences – and in return you will not only see your work printed in a book, you’ll also receive a copy of your own to keep for free!
You don’t need to be New Zealand’s next Picasso or JK Rowling, you just need to have experience as a person who stutters, and a message about this you want to share!
A great way to get started is to think about how your stutter makes you unique, and how you might experience life differently to others –whether it is in a positive or negative way, we welcome all insights!
How does stuttering taste, how does it smell, what colour would it be, and what emotions do you associate with it?
These are all great ways to start thinking about how you might want to tell your story, or even what kind of picture you would like to make.
But remember, there is no right or wrong way to express yourself and we look forward to celebrating all different ideas and voices!
If you would like more information or to submit a piece for our book – or you would like to help your child submit a piece – please get in contact with us via email at support@www.stuttering.co.nz.

Why are males more likely to stutter?

This question comes up fairly regularly, and because so little is understood about the definitive cause of stuttering, it’s often difficult to know why it is more common among males.

What we do know about stuttering is that it affects 1% of the population – an amount that sounds small, but really isn’t. In fact this means that there are almost 15,000 people who stutter in Auckland alone – that’s quite a lot of people actually!

Beyond this hard fact, there is a lot about stuttering that is not known for certain. It is thought that it is a disorder that is rooted in the neural processing area of the brain that controls speech production. There is often a genetic link, with stuttering running in families, and it is also more common in children. Many children who stutter as pre-schoolers will grow out of it without any help, others will need therapy to help with their stutter, and then there are those who will continue to stutter throughout their lives.

Something that we do know is that stuttering is statistically more common among males, although it is not fully understood why. Stuttering affects men four times more than it affects women, which is a pretty big difference.

It has long been suspected that the number of female adults who stutter is significantly lower because they have a higher chance of natural recovery at a young age – this seems to be supported by research done by the University of Illinois Stuttering Research Program. This research showed that girls were more likely to naturally recover or grow out of stuttering without therapy (although this was not the case with every child), whereas boys were less likely to. This clearly indicates the importance of seeking therapy as soon as possible to assess the risks and likelihood of future chronic stuttering.

Stuttering that is genetic (because not all cases are genetic) is also more likely to confirm the gender bias, whereas those cases which are not related to genetics have less of a gender disparity. Another interesting statistic to acknowledge is “for men who stuttered, 9% of their daughters and 22% of their sons will be stutterers; while for the fewer women who ever stuttered the risks are higher, as 17% of their daughters and 36% of their sons will be affected.”

Although there is no hard evidence to tell us why males are more likely to stutter, what we do know is that early access to treatment is the best way to ensure your child – boy or girl – is able to have their stuttering assessed by a trained professional who can advise you on future steps.

If your child is stuttering – web-browsing and asking friends what to do may cause more stress and confusion than need be; it is best you seek professional advice first on where to go from here.

Get help with your stutter

START speaks up on the global stage

Dr Anna Hearne, a speech language therapist based at our Albany clinic, has recently returned from Germany and France where she has been sharing her knowledge with clinicians and therapists from across Europe. Anna was invited to present at a conference conducted by the Interdisziplinaere Vereinigung der Stottertherapeuten in Fulda, Germany (translated as the “Interdisciplinary Association of Stutter Therapists”).

The conference was focused on “’Effectiveness of Therapy for stuttering: what we do, and how we measure this”. Together with colleague Bettina Freerk, the presentation explained their findings and experience with the Lidcombe Program for stuttering treatment in children. Following each presentation there was a chance for healthy discussion of the topic and a question and answer session among the professionals to maximise learnings. As one of only 10 presentations to an exclusive group of 130 invitees, Anna and Bettina not only educated the audience but also helped to grow STARTs networks on a global scale.

A big part of our role as therapists is professional development and education. For us, it’s important to stay at the head of the field with the latest research and treatment approaches to ensure we’re delivering the best service to our clients. As well as the conference in Germany, Anna continued on to present workshops about the Lidcombe Program in Germany and the Camperdown Program in France, helping more therapists to become aware and proficient with these treatment approaches.

Start Celebrates 21 Years of Service

In March 2016 START formally marked its twenty first birthday with a party and celebration for some of our friends and supporters.

Around sixty people gathered at the home of current trustee and generous host Suzanne Purdy and her husband Peter in Epsom.

The evening was an opportunity for past trustees, ambassadors and staff members to catch up. START ambassadors Royce Willis and Ian Grant were in attendance along with past employees, and trustees and long term supporters of START. Manager Janelle Irvine is optimistic about the future for START. “We see huge potential in our group programmes due to the sense of community they create for our clients and this is an area we are focusing on to build a sustainable future for our organisation.”

Janelle also paid tribute to the commitment and dedication of longstanding Chairman Nigel Whiteman and current Speech Language Therapist Roz Young who have served START for many years. “The sense of family START has created is very important to us and we’re proud of our close supportive community”

START was established in 1995 by a small group of committed and motivated people which included speech language therapists, people who stuttered and families of children who stuttered. June Garden and Vivienne Mills were instrumental in forming the Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust when the District Health Board stopped providing treatment through its outpatient services.

START team learn more about the Demands and Capacities Model (DCM)

In July START employees Anna Hearne and Voon Pang attended a workshop in Rotterdam to learn more about the demand and capacities (DCM) model.

The workshop was an invaluable opportunity for the START team to see the DCM programme results, which are showing similarities with the Lidcombe Program. The highlight for Anna and Voon though was the opportunity to meet and network with such a large group of experts in stuttering with delegates from Russia, Japan, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. “To have all that expertise and interest in stuttering in one place was really energising” Anna said.

Rod Drury

CEO of Xero

Growing up in Hawke’s Bay, tech entrepreneur Rod Drury had a stutter that dogged him into corporate life in his twenties. “I couldn’t use the phone or anything.” says Drury, of his first job at accountants Ernst & Young. At 27, he took a course to master his stutter, practising his new knowledge by talking as much as possible. These days he addresses 1000 people a week, as the salesman and chief executive for Xero. “That’s why I really enjoy public speaking, because it’s terrifying. It’s very satisfying to do it.”

Nikki Hart

Nutritionist

“My parents always said that with hard work you can achieve anything. Their unwavering belief in me meant I knew I’d deal with it. I had to ‘own it.’ I couldn’t pretend it would go away, but I couldn’t let it define me either – it was only just one small aspect of me. Although there were times I was exhausted and frustrated by my stutter I knew I had places to be, things to do and my stutter wasn’t going to stop me from doing all of it.”

Royce Willis

Former All Black

“Growing up I found stuttering tremendously challenging and it created many self-esteem issues. Today I view the hardship as more of a gift than a curse – necessary for me to reach my full potential. Organisations like START have been responsible for helping me over the years, by giving me the tools to successfully manage my communication, for which I am most grateful.”