About
Stutter Social is an organization that connects people who stutter (PWS) through Google+ Hangouts. Every time a Stutter Social Hangout begins, the button on the Find a Hangout page turns green and clicking it will bring you directly to the Hangout. We also post the Hangout link on our Facebook page and Google+ page.
For those who don't know what a Hangout is, it's a group video conference call where you can see and talk to up to 10 people at a time. You'll need a Google+ account in order to participate in a Hangout and you can get one at http://plus.google.com.
Participating in a Hangout is a fun, free, and safe way to connect with other PWS. Discussion often revolves around stuttering-related issues, but sometimes we just chat about our day or a good movie. We are a very welcoming and friendly bunch so don't be shy and come join us whenever is convenient for you. We have a Hangout Calendar that lists all the different Hangouts occurring each week.
Our Hangouts are run by official Stutter Social hosts. They are all people who stutter and they will do their best to make each Hangout worthwhile and enjoyable. You can read more about them below.
If you would like to host your own hangout, please email stuttersocial (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
Meet your hosts
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David Resnick is an inventor, entrepreneur, musician, and biofield researcher in Los Angeles who uses creativity and technology to facilitate fun and flow.
- Daniele Rossi is an illustrative designer from Toronto, Canada. Daniele produces the Stuttering is Cool podcast and blocks on plosives and stutters on a few vowels.
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Evan Sherman is a speech-Language pathologist from Ormond Beach, FL. He is a Chapter Leader for the NSA and enjoys advocating for others who stutter.
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Krishna Srinivasan lives in London, UK, and is a management consultant. He has stammered since before the age of 6 and enjoys using the Internet to meet other people who stammer.
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Mitchell Trichon, PhD, has published and presented research on stuttering support groups. He co-leads NSA’s adult support network and teaches at St. John’s University.
Management
David Resnick, Chief Evangelist & Co-Founder
Daniele Rossi, Chief Digital Strategist & Co-Founder
Mitchell Trichon, PhD, Self-Help Specialist & Co-Founder
Samuel Dunsiger, Communications Director
How Stutter Social Started
Daniele and David had their first meaningful conversation at the 2011 NSA Conference in Ft. Worth. They connected at Nina G's comedy show and talked about digital media and web design. It was clear that they were both tech-heads who loved the NSA and wanted to do their part in supporting people who stutter. After the conference, Dani interviewed David for his podcast. They talked about how super strong the camaraderie was at the conference this year and how they really didn't want that to end just because they had to go home. They heard this sentiment voiced by others in the NSA too. That was the birth of Stutter Social–the acknowledgement that they didn't want the conference to end!
Broader Reach
In addition to our goals of reaching people who stutter, we're also doing our part in raising public awareness about stuttering. At the 2011 NSA Conference, the keynote speaker David Seidler (writer of The King's Speech) said that "the story of stuttering is the story of bravery". Mr. Seidler further said that it's up to each one of us to tell the story of stuttering. We hope to embody this directive in future endeavors with Stutter Social.
Recent research has shown that self-help activities for people who stutter are beneficial in the overall management of stuttering (Tetnowski & McClure, 2009; Trichon & Tetnowski, 2011; Trichon, Tetnowski, & Rentschler, 2007).
Tetnowski, J. A., & McClure, J. A. (2009). Executive summary of 2009 survey. Seminar presented at the annual conference of the National Stuttering Association, Phoenix, AZ.
Trichon, M., & Tetnowski, J. (2011). Self-help conferences for people who stutter: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Fluency Disorders. doi:10.1016/j.jfludis.2011.06.001
Trichon, M., Tetnowski, J., & Rentschler, G. (2007). Perspective of participants of self-help groups for people who stutter. In J. Au-Yeung, & M. M. Leahy (Eds.), Research, treatment, and self-help in fluency disorders: New horizons. Proceedings of the fifth world congress on fluency disorders 25–28 July, 2006, Dublin, Ireland, (pp. 171–176). The International Fluency Association.