Listening to People Who Stutter: the case of Newfoundland and Labrador

In Part III we listen to people who stutter.

What we will hear is thanks to a a small but dedicated group of volunteers who have organized in response to a lack of understanding around people who stutter in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2019, the Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association formed to advocate for and support people who stutter. The following year, the Communication Collaborative, a research group in solidarity with the NLSA, developed to provide further support for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living with speech, language and voice differences.

<Description of NLSA here>

The Communication Collaborative (COMMCO-LAB) enables students at Memorial University to participate in solidarity research with communities and organizations throughout the province. They use digital media (e.g. podcasting and short documentary film) to inquire and engage. Currently, it is made up of people who stutter (PWS), members of provincial government, members of the public, educators, speech-language pathologists, academic researchers, university students, mental health professionals, disability advocates, and NLSA members. Collaborators & stakeholders of COMMCO-LAB:

1. learn about stuttering research and how it could be used for NLSA advocacy
2. implement ways to leverage support from public and private agencies
3. participate in research (e.g. to study / recognize deficits in the province’s programs and services for PWS)
4. promote cross-discipline research at Memorial University
5. provide learning experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students attending Memorial, and MUN alumni (e.g. speech-language pathology students who are attending graduate schools out of province).

COMMCO-LAB’s work with the NLSA seeks to better understand sociolinguistic issues in the practice of speech-language pathology, particularly as it relates to people who stutter and the treatment of stuttering under a medical model. This is done through the production of the weekly podcast, Some Stutter, Luh! , a research survey on Accessibility of Services in NL, The Science of Stuttering: an open educational resource, and A Short Film About Discommunication.

Together, we are listening to people who stutter in the province – and beyond. We turn now to highlight some of the experiences they have shared with us. Our hope is that by sharing their stories, thoughts and values, we will understand how disciplines in the social sciences – like sociolinguistics but others too – can dispel the myths, stereotypes and barriers that accompany people who communicate differently throughout their lives.