speech therapy | Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START)

Celebrating the Unsung Heroes: A Teacher’s Impact on My Journey

To celebrate Teacher’s Day (October 5th) this year, we have a story we’d like to share with you which demonstrates the impact teachers can have on our lives. Recently, Zheen Abdullazada shared with us a pivotal moment in her teenage years that has had a lasting impact and we’d like to share it with you.

“As a little girl, I dreamt of becoming a lawyer. I was a talkative kid and my family never made me feel there was something ‘wrong’ with me so I didn’t know I had a ‘stutter’ until I started school – when peers started bullying me for something I didn’t understand.

I remember feeling like I couldn’t be a lawyer because I thought I sounded stupid and incoherent when I talked. Despite the challenges of public speaking, I didn’t shy away from raising my hand in class or giving speeches, even though my stutter made these experiences daunting. Sometimes, I would stutter for minutes on a word and my throat would physically hurt.

It wasn’t until my Year 12 English teacher, Mrs Taylor, took me aside one day and told me about START. In January 2015, when I was 16 years old, I attended a week-long course specifically for teenagers who stutter. This connected me with a group of incredible young people. Together we formed deep bonds and learnt invaluable information about stuttering and useful speech techniques that I still use to this day. I owe my accomplishments to Mrs Taylor and START – without them, I wouldn’t have the tools, confidence and support to pursue my dreams.

It’s easy for someone with a stutter to allow it to dictate their life and choices – START encourages and fosters the opposite. The course I attended at START during those important years at high school transformed my life. It taught me how to ‘manage’ my stutter instead of letting it ‘control’ me and I’ve never forgotten that it’s all thanks to Mrs Taylor for letting me know about START in the first place.

Fast forward to 2023 – I’m now 24 years old and recently graduated from the University of Auckland with a Conjoint Law and Arts Degree, double majoring in Politics and International Relations, and Criminology. I’ve just finished my professional legal studies course and I work as a litigation lawyer for a law firm in Tāmaki Makarau. I’ve recently joined the START Board as a Shadow Board Member so that I can learn how a Board works and give back to the organisation that’s given so much to me.

When I look at all of these accomplishments I’m brought back to that moment at high school where Mrs Taylor took the time to connect with me on a deeper level, and got me the help I needed – a great teacher can have a life changing impact”.

Zheen Abdullazada

We know and appreciate the impact teachers can have. With many more stories just like Zheen’s, we know how helpful supportive teachers can be in the lives of young people who stutter.

Brush up on your knowledge about stuttering and how to support students who stutter in our FREE Teachers Resource here, or check out our page specifically for teachers to learn more about stuttering here.

The challenge of meeting new people

Kia ora, I’m Felix, a social worker at START and a person who stutters.

Introducing yourself and talking to a new person or group of people can be a challenging and stressful thing for people who stutter. We tend to worry about what people may think or say if we stutter. We may also experience strong emotional and physical reactions, such as anxiety, shame, guilt, increased heart rate, shortness of breath or feeling shaky, hot or tense.

I know these feelings and worrying thoughts first-hand. I can remember some social interactions with new people and their surprised faces and negative comments when I stuttered. These reactions are usually not made to intentionally hurt or upset. However, they can reinforce the negative associations and strong reactions people who stutter may have about meeting and talking to new people. This can result in avoidance or reduced social participation and affect a person’s sense of self, wellbeing and quality of life.

So, how can a person who stutters manage worrying thoughts and emotional/physical reactions and navigate meeting and talking to new people more confidently?

Here are few tips and tricks:

First and foremost, I believe it’s important to acknowledge your thoughts and feelings when meeting and talking to new people. They are valid and understandable!
Be mindful not to over-generalise past negative experiences and predict they will happen again in the future. The human brain tends to magnify/remember the negatives and minimise/overlook the positives. So, remind yourself that not every social interaction you’ve had or reactions from others you’ve received in the past have been negative.
Don’t look at social interactions solely through the “stuttering lens”, but explore other perspectives too, e.g., “What are other people’s view points on this?”, “What’s my reason to go to this social event or talk to a new person? Is it to hide my stutter and speak fluently or have a good time with my friends and potentially meet someone new?”. Also, “Am I forgetting about all my other awesome characteristics?”. Remember, you are so much more than your stutter! It’s something you happen to have; it does not define you!
Try to take the initiative to introduce yourself and start the conversation. This gives you a sense of control and power, instead of letting the anxiety and worrying thoughts creep up in anticipation that someone may or may not approach you and ask for your name, start a conversation, etc. Personally, I find this strategy very helpful.
Consider talking openly about your stutter if you feel it’s appropriate and helpful for you in that situation. Addressing “the elephant in the room” takes courage but can really help to reduce stress. It brings your focus back to the actual situation and directs your thoughts away from ruminating about stuttering. However, be mindful about the language you use. The way we speak about stuttering will influence how other people will think about and react to it.

Ultimately, if you are a person who stutters you will stutter and that is okay. There is no right or wrong way to speak. At the end of the day, it matters what you say, not how you say it.

The Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust on The Project NZ

Thank you to the wonderful team at The Project, as well as Ethan Findlow who features in the video below about our Intensive Fluency Course. We are so pleased that our July 2018 course was featured over two nights, please view the compilation below and tell us what you think!