Unfolding stuttering: Why working against ableism must be the ethical core of our field

I am Nelly Penttilä, a docent in speech and language pathology, working at Tampere University, Finland. I lead the Kone Foundation–funded research project Did I Stutter?, which examines discrimination, ableism, and everyday inequalities related to stuttering in the Finnish context. Therefore, it was a privilege to open the 15th ISA World Congress for People Who … read more…

Dysfluent Literature

Privileged to choose Dr Maria Stewart to discuss her work on the Stammering Collective and her readings of Emily Dickinson’s poetry for the Disorderly Voices podcast hosted by Patrick Campbell for Stuttering Commons. Maria has been a key influence in opening my eyes to the literary and cultural heritage people who stammer are born into. … read more…

Looking back, looking forward

Honored to be chosen by Conor Foran to take part in the Disorderly Voices podcast hosted by Patrick Campbell and Maria Stewart to discuss my chapter Looking Back, Looking Forward in the 2019 book Stammering Pride and Prejudice: Difference not Defect, co-edited together with Patrick Campbell and Christopher Constantino. You can listen to our conversation … read more…

The potential benefits of self-compassion for people who stammer: My experience and a chance to become involved in the research

How my personal experience inspired my research study To truly understand my excitement about this new project – and my deep commitment to researching the potential benefits of self-compassion for people who stammer – I need to share a little about how self-compassion changed my own life. Some of you may have read parts of … read more…

Dysfluency in Three Modes of Belonging

Stuttering pride is starting to mature. No longer a hushed whisper that might evaporate if spoken aloud, the social movement of stuttering pride has turned to root and flower. In this post I want to consider the growing stuttering community from the perspective of a gardener. Nietzsche, of all people, offers a starting point: “Woe … read more…