My Stammer and Me: Supporting Children and Young People Who Stammer

My Stammer and Me is an easy-to-follow and convenient group therapy resource which supports young people to understand stammering within the context of their broader identity. By encouraging them to celebrate their strengths and share their challenges with peers, the programme introduces young people to a neutral or positive reframing of stammering, helping them to move towards feeling comfortable sharing their experience and their knowledge with others.

Key features include:

• Clearly worded step-by-step plans for 12 group sessions

• Engaging and accessible visual resources and worksheets

• Home sheets to involve families

• Information sheets for families and education staff

• Online resources, including a video and a downloadable parent presentation

Suitable for both experienced stammering specialists and those new to the field, this resource provides speech and language therapists with an invaluable tool for delivering stammer-affirming group therapy for young people who stammer.

Claire Bull is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist and Clinical Lead of the Specialist Stammering Team at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. After developing her specialism at the Leeds Stammering Support Centre, she has 20 years’ experience of working with children, young people and adults who stammer, both individually and in group settings. Claire is also a guest lecturer on the BMedSci and MMedSci Speech and Language Therapy programmes at the University of Sheffield. In her work as Clinical Lead and guest lecturer, she is passionate about changing attitudes to stammering and providing stammer-affirming support for young people so that they may enjoy communication, feel able to self-advocate and reach their full potential. Claire is particularly interested in exploring different ways to bring young people and families together in group activities, to develop a sense of belonging and raise awareness of the wonderful stammering community of which they are a part.

Amanda Finer is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist working with children and teenagers with a range of speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) with a specialism in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). After many years working within the NHS, she now divides her time between independent practice and Symbol, a not-for-profit organisation, where she has set up a service for children and teenagers with DLD. Amanda is the co-author of DLD And Me: Supporting Children and Young People with Developmental Language Disorder which received the RCSLT Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation. Amanda is dedicated to supporting all children and young people with SLCN in understanding themselves and developing the skills to self-advocate, empowering them to confidently share their voices and express their thoughts and views. She also delivers talks and training to raise awareness and promote understanding around these important issues.

Anna Sowerbutts is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist for the NHS in Hackney and a lecturer on the MSc Speech and Language Therapy course at UCL. She works with children with a range of communication needs, particularly Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and speech sound disorder, and she has set up a clinic service at UCL for assessing adults for DLD. She is the co-author of DLD And Me: Supporting Children and Young People with Developmental Language Disorder (awarded the RCSLT Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation), and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2020 to explore DLD provision in Australia. Her research interests include conversation analysis and how diagnosis affects self-advocacy.