The following are three big ideas the WSCO breakout groups identified as being opportunity areas to increase stuttering support group attendance.

The “Support Group” label can be off-putting to many adults who stutter considering attending a meeting. Session attendees talked about how the stigma associated with attending a support group is strong. The recommendation is to focus on how the group builds community and friendships by bringing people who stutter together. Call it a Social Group and not a Support Group.

During meetings, people socialize and have fun. It’s an enjoyable time for people who stutter. It’s more a social gathering than a support group. This simple wording change helps to “normalize” and de-stigmatize monthly support group meetings.

Make your meetings even more social by having it at a restaurant or at fun gathering spot. If you host meetings in an office room, encourage attendees to bring food and drinks.

Some session attendees went online to search for a stuttering support group. They found that most online mentions of support groups only included text with information about the group (location, day, time, etc.). This didn’t motivate them to think the group would be worthwhile to attend.

The recommendation is to share more than just text online. Share photos of people who attend local meetings because seeing someone who looks like you, will give you greater confidence in attending. Share video of people so potential attendees can see and hear stuttering voices.

Find inspiration from the websites the Portland, OR group and Greenville, SC group use to promote their monthly meetings. Both of these groups are local chapters from the National Stuttering Association.

In the discussion about how to promote upcoming meetings, attendees stressed the importance of sending multiple reminders in multiple ways.

Send a series of emails to the group starting a few weeks out from the next meeting. Use social media to promote meetings and encourage people to share it online. Create a flyer and post it at local universities, share the flyer with local SLPs, and post it online as a graphic. Call or text people who haven’t attended recently.

You can never over-communicate upcoming meetings. And, be sure to communicate recaps after every meeting so that people can learn what they missed by not attending.

Attendees in the session were divided into three breakout groups. Each group had 30 minutes to do an individual exercise and then share their ideas within the group. The following are recaps from the breakout groups.

Planning, Promoting and Leading a Stuttering Support Group Meeting

SESSION SETUP
Many stuttering support group leaders are not prepared for the time commitment needed to plan, advertise, and effectively lead a meeting. This breakout group was given an assignment to organize an upcoming support group meeting. This task included both marketing the meeting and planning the activities/topics for the meeting.

Breakout group attendees asked and answered the following questions: 

1. What are the many ways you would get the word out about your meeting?

2. What are activities or meeting topics you would plan to discuss in your meeting?

3. What success measurements would you use to determine the effectiveness of your meeting?

4. How would you follow-up with group members to ensure people attend again and stay involved with the group?

Overcoming Shame, Stigma and Fear to Attend a Stuttering Support Group Meeting

SESSION SETUP
Sharing personal struggles with strangers can feel very uncomfortable. There is still stigma associated with participating in self-help therapy groups. And the fear of vulnerability is a powerful obstacle to overcome.

This breakout group engaged in an exercise to understand how people can tame the dragons of shame, stigma and fear in order to see out and engage with the stuttering community. 

Key themes emerged from the powerful group discussion:

1. Drop “Support” from the name. It’s a Stuttering Social Group.

2. Share photos of people who attend meetings to show potential attendees the range of ages, gender and ethnicity of people who attend.

3. Share video of people who attend so potential attendees can see and hear stuttering voices.

Search Online and What Will a PWS Find?

SESSION SETUP
The two most common ways people find out about a stuttering support group is through an online search or a recommendation from an SLP. Either way, getting someone to attend for the first time will almost always include an online search. What someone finds will strongly influence their decision to attend or not to attend as a first-timer.

This breakout group used their phones to search for a local stuttering support in Portland, OR. People took notes about how easy (or difficult) it was to find the group.

Group conversation involved discussing these questions:

1. What was your overall impression of searching online to find a stuttering support group?

2. What specifically gave you confidence to attend a meeting?

3. What specifically didn’t give you confidence to attend a meeting?

4. What ideas do you to improve how a first-timer learns about a stuttering support group online?