Graduate Student and Professor Team up and Form Stuttering Support Group

Imagine not having control of your own mouth. Your speech is subject to being inhibited at any time, no matter how important or timely the message may be. People laugh, get confused, frustrated and angry. Stuttering is a disorder that affects over three million Americans. Lacy Jones, a graduate student at East Stroudsburg University, has been dealing with this her entire life. Jones, experiencing the struggle firsthand, decided to form a stuttering support group at ESU for others who experience the same life-altering impediment.

Stuttering affects a person’s speech with either stoppages, repetitions, and/or prolongations of sounds, parts of words, whole words, or phrases. It can take the simplest of conversations and turn it into an elongated passage. Unfortunately, most times it is uncontrollable, which can make social situations awkward, presentations unbearable, and make even the kindest people impatient and aggravated. Although she doesn’t remember when it began, Jones has been stuttering since childhood.

“The teasing started in sixth grade. As I got older, I learned how to control my stutter to the point where I was content with it,” said Jones.

She spent over 30 years battling with her stutter – a lot of times feeling like she was doing it alone. Jones created the group hoping that her experiences can help benefit those who have felt as lost as she once did.

When Jones shared her idea with Ann Millett, assistant professor of speech-language pathology and clinic director at ESU’s Speech & Hearing Center, they made a commitment to use their previous experiences and expertise to help others.

Millett and Jones are hopeful that this support initiative will be helpful, successful. It’s open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. All meetings are free to the public. The first meeting is November 3, on the second floor of Monroe Hall at 5:15 p.m. For more information about the new stuttering support group, please contact amillet@esu.edu or ljones1@live.esu.edu.

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