Stuttering is a communication disorder that affects more than 3 million people in the United States. It is known to disrupt and cause disfluencies in a person's speech at varying degrees and makes conversation harder.
The National Stuttering Association (NSA) is a support group that joins people who stutter, their friends, family, and speech language pathologists to learn more about the disorder and develop coping mechanisms. The organization's local chapter, The Monroe Family Chapter, serves people of all ages that suffer from the disorder in Northeast Lousiana.
The meetings take place on ULM's campus at Sugar Hall (Second Floor) - Room 200 every second Monday of the month from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. The group's next meeting is set for February 10, and attendance is free to the public. The group's organizer and leader, Amanda Elias, is a clinical instructor/supervisor at ULM, and she uses her expertise in the field to help lead the support group.
Elias structures the hour-long session around group discussions to get her members more comfortable speaking in front of others.
She says, "We start by talking about things that have happened in our lives, and then move on to a topic like disclosure where we discuss how comfortable you are telling people that you have a stutter before you start speaking."
Rudhan Ghimire, a student at ULM and member of the support group, says that he has greatly benefited from his time at The Monroe Family Chapter.
"The group has helped me meet other people in a free atmosphere where we can say our own ideas, and it has also really helped me with my stuttering."
For more information about the Monroe Family Chapter or stuttering, click here.