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How to Help Adolescents Who Stutter Successfully Transition to the “Real World”

Naomi H. Rodgers, PhD, CCC-SLP


Stuttering can complicate an already tumultuous time for adolescents and their caregivers, teachers, and clinicians.


They are actively asserting their independence from adults while instead depending on peers for approval, belonging, and support. As massive neurophysiological changes of puberty unfold, adolescents are often impulsive and emotionally volatile which can lead to mental health issues (commonly anxiety).


Thus on the one hand, adolescence is a time of vulnerability. But on the other hand, it is a time of great possibility; profound brain-behavior changes make this a ripe window for self-directed learning and self-determination.


As caregivers, teachers, and clinicians who care for adolescents who stutter, we have a unique opportunity to support their journey toward a confident, empowered future in the “real world” where stuttering doesn’t hold them back personally, socially, or professionally. 



In 2022, Dr. Ginger Collins (University of Montana) and I received a research grant from the National Stuttering Association to establish guidelines for how SLPs can best support adolescents who stutter as they prepare to transition to life after high school. School-based transition plans legally require a focus on three postsecondary domains:

  • (1) higher education or vocational training,

  • (2) employment, and

  • (3) independent living and community engagement.


You can listen to our recent Stuttering Foundation Podcast episode where we go into more detail about the legal and personal aspects of transitions for students who stutter.


We conducted focus groups with 15-24 year olds who stutter, including current high schoolers and recent high school graduates, as well as focus groups with SLPs and parents of high schoolers who stutter. We asked participants to share what challenges young people who stutter may face in each of the three postsecondary domains, what personal skills are needed to productively navigate those challenges, and what accessibility practices would help them be successful.


Let’s walk through the primary skills that we identified from what participants shared. 


In the domain of postsecondary education or vocational training:


  1. Educate instructors and peers about stuttering – Disclosing stuttering to people in the educational setting, and educating those people about what’s helpful and unhelpful for them, can make the learning setting more comfortable to stutter in.

  2. Consider accommodations – Some students may benefit from accommodations like extended time for presentations or not being called on in class if they’re not raising their hand. Others may not want to be treated any differently than their peers and thus not want any accommodations. Both routes are ok, as long as they are intentional. Regardless of whether or not the student wants to establish accommodations right now, it is helpful for adolescents to understand how to find and contact the disability or resource office. 

  3. Develop coping strategies for stressful classroom interactions – Unfortunately, adolescents who stutter face educational setting challenges like time limits on presentations and time pressure to respond, graded oral participation, and microaggressions (e.g., being interrupted, gestures that imply “move it along,” being asked to repeat themselves fluently). It is helpful to prepare students who stutter for how to navigate these situations through self-advocacy and stress reduction practices. 



In the domain of postsecondary employment:


  1. Educate employers and coworkers about stuttering – Similar to the educational setting, disclosing stuttering to people at work, and educating them about what’s helpful and unhelpful for them, can make the work setting more comfortable to stutter in.

  2. Explore how stuttering impacts career choices – Young adults may be concerned that stuttering interferes with their ability to have a job they truly want. They may be inspired to pursue their desired career path once they see other adults who stutter being successful in a variety of careers—including those that require a lot of talking. The National Stuttering Association’s “Career Success Profiles” page has an outstanding repository of such stories. 

  3. Prepare for job interviews – Job interviews are stressful for everyone, but young adults who stutter are often uniquely worried about the effect that stuttering may have on how employers perceive them. Disclosing stuttering as a strength can help job candidates present themselves in a confident, empowered way. It can be helpful to do mock interviews, like those offered by the National Stuttering Association. 

  4. Understand workplace rights and co-create an accessible work environment – It’s important that adolescents stutter know that stuttering is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), even if they don’t personally identify as disabled. Because stuttering is considered a disability under the law, they are legally protected against workplace discrimination due to stuttering. The Job Accommodations Network offers a trove of resources for how to disclose a disability in the work setting, possible workplace accommodations, and how to request and negotiate those accommodations.


In the domain of independent living and engagement:


  1. Educate others about stuttering – Just as disclosure and education can help make space for stuttering in educational and work settings, it is also beneficial in personal situations as well. 

  2. Prepare for independence in activities of daily living – Help adolescents who stutter understand the variety of interactions they will have outside of educational and work settings like dating and making friends, ordering at restaurants and drive-throughs, making phone calls, talking to store clerks and transportation personnel, talking to medical providers and authority figures, etc. Within these interactions, there are opportunities stuttering-related mistreatment like being rejected by a romantic interest because of stuttering, being hung up on during a phone call, being mocked when stuttering on their name, etc. It can be helpful to prepare for how to self-advocate and problem solve in those moments. 

  3. Integrate stuttering into one’s identity – Trying to suppress stuttering can lead to emotional and physical stress. Embracing stuttering as one part of themselves can support their overall well-being.  

  4. Seek support, belonging, and mentorship opportunities – Stuttering can be a very isolating experience. It can be helpful to seek out opportunities that cultivate a sense of purpose and belonging like joining a stuttering support group, playing an extramural sport, volunteering, participating in a hobby club, etc.


Based on the rich experiences that our key partners shared during the focus groups, we developed a discussion guide for adults to use with adolescents who stutter to help them start to prepare for life after high school. This discussion guide is intended to elicit adolescents’ personal perspectives while highlighting areas where trusted adults can provide strengths-based education and support. 




There are a few common threads that we discovered across all three domains.


→ First, talking to adolescents about their future may raise topics of identity and disability. Do they think stuttering is part of their identity? Do they think they have a disability because of stuttering or how their stuttering is treated by others? Adolescents who stutter will have different perspectives on whether stuttering is an identity and/or disability for them, and it’s important that we make space for them to explore that within supportive relationships.


→ Second, the value of educating and being open about stuttering with oneself and others cannot be overstated. There is mounting evidence that concealing stuttering and not talking about it can be toxic to mental health.


→ Finally, these skills we described above represent proactive behaviors that can build resilience and prevent adverse effects of stuttering in the “real world.” 




Naomi H. Rodgers, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University Iowa. She teaches SLP students on the topics of stuttering, counseling, and clinical methods. She also directs the Iowa Stuttering Lab where she examines the cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of stuttering and communication disabilities more broadly. Her work is inspired by her experiences as a person who stutters, clinician, and advocate in the stuttering support community. She is an Oxford comma enthusiast. 


Contact

Instagram: @uistutteringlab 





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