Thread by @JohnRKenney

It's International Stuttering Awareness Day, which happens to coincide with my 1st week on the job in a new role within a new organisation.

#Stuttering at work can be hard for a lot of us. It wasn't for me this week & here's what helped 🧵
#ISAD2021 #NoDiversityWithoutDisfluency

I spend time with other people who stutter via online meet-ups & events. We talk about stuttering at work & ways to navigate it. We support each other.

I'm also practicing being open about stuttering at work with colleagues & people who do not stutter.

For example, when applying for my new job I included my @CSAStuttering & @50MillionVoices volunteer experience on my CV.

I disclosed that I stutter in my application & at the start of my interview before giving a presentation to the panel.

The interview went well &, yes, I stuttered. I found being open about it helped. I got the job too which signals that my new employer is okay with me & stuttering too.

And during my 1st meeting with my new boss on day 1 this week, they applauded me for disclosing that I stuttered during the interview. It turns out someone close to them is a life-long stutterer.

We talked about living with stuttering for a bit & went about our days. It meant a lot &, again, signaled to me that it's #OKToStutter at work.

It's the first time I talked about stuttering on day 1 with a boss or colleague. For me, it hit home the point that it takes two to stutter. 'How you show up affects my voice': meganreitz.com/blog/how-you-s…

Stuttering is a social experience. When I & the person I'm engaging are okay with it, I find it makes things so much easier.

That's not case in every situation for those of us who stutter though. Too often, it can be quite the opposite.

Just this week, I was talking with a university student in Canada who stutters. Their professor was pressuring them to speak fluently when delivering an upcoming presentation or risk getting docked points. "You need to practice & not be nervous. You only get 3 minutes"

I won't go into other details but the stuttering myths, power dynamics & exclusionary practices at play were overt. The pressure being put on this student to not stutter, to not be & sound different, was immense...& this is in a place of "higher learning" westutter.org/myths-about-st…

Changing attitudes, perceptions & actions to be more inclusive, accessible & open to disfluent voices is a work in progress.

Every one of us can help make it #OKToStutter at home, work & school, on TV & radio, & other settings.

I'm grateful for @stammer's #NoDiversityWithoutDisfluency campaign advocating for more disfluent voices in media, for example. You can help that effort by signing the petition today change.org/p/bbc-we-need-…

There are over #50MillionVoices of job seekers & employees who stutter around the world & we want to be heard, including in the workplace 50millionvoices.org

Let's make it #OKToStutter at work stutter.ca/articles/perso…

Thank you! 🌱

#ISAD2021
#NoDiversityWithoutDisfluency
#OKToStutter
#DifferenceNotDefect