Meet Megan Lynch, a young speech and language pathology graduate student. In this deeply person podcast, Megan tells her story of growing up as a person who stutters and her decision to become an SLP.

She shares how she uses mindfulness techniques in the moments when she awaiting her turn to speak. Megan also shares the speech trauma she experienced as a middle school student and even a few years ago.

What’s really cool are the affirmations and self talk she practices to help her become her authentic self. This podcast gave me so much hope for stuttering therapy!

Enjoy the episode!

Megan Lynch is an SLP graduate student at Gwynedd Mercy University and an SLPA with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. A native of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Speech, Language, and Hearing Science from Temple University in 2020. As a person who stutters, Megan is interested in creating more open conversations around stuttering as she continues her path in the field

Meet Vince Vawter, renowned author, former newspaper editor and a person who stutters. In this podcast Vince shares his wisdom from his lifelong journey as a person who stutters, much of which he captures in his four books, starting with Paperboy, the story of an 11 year old paperboy and his challenges as a boy who stutters. This podcast dives deep into his most recent book: The Stuttering Stoic, where Vince shares the philosophy that has shaped his and Brian's adult lives for the better. Brian and Vince dive deep into Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and how the messages from ancient philosophers can help us today. Vince's favorite Marcus quote, "Be indifferent to the things that make no difference" speaks to why we shouldn't worry about the things we can't control. Seneca's quote: "we suffer more in our imagination about the future than the event itself" likely resonates with all people who stutter. This podcast is about overcoming, not curing, your stutter by finding your voice.

Vince Vawter, a native of Memphis and a person who stutters, retired after a 40-year career in newspapers, most recently as the president and publisher of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press.
He attended Louisiana State University, Rhodes College of Memphis, the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Books:
• Paperboy
• Copyboy
• Manboy
• The Stuttering Stoic

Meet Luke McCann, a Vice President at Valuation Research Corporation and a person who stutters. Luke performs a wide range of financial advisory work in the business valuation sector.

In this educational, high energy and yes, at times emotional (that's Brian!) podcast, Luke shapes how:

• He moved from just focusing on tools to focusing on tools and acceptance.
• His powerful experience working with his speech pathologist
• How voluntary stuttering helped him with desensitization
• How disclosure makes him feel more authentic.
• And most importantly... how his stutter makes him unforgettable!

Luke Graduated from Baylor University, holds both a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation and an Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential. He is passionate about staying active and engaged in my community.

This podcast covers so much ground from being a covert stutterer in high school and starting therapy for the first time, to becoming an SLP who stutters and leading Friends, The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. This podcast is for people who stutter, parents of kids who stutter and all friends of people who stutter. It takes a deep look at the mind of a person who stutters and what truly works!

Caryn Herring, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and the Executive Director of the non-profit support organization Friends: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. Caryn also, privately, treats children and adults who stutter. She graduated with her PhD from Michigan State University, her MS from Purdue University, and her BA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Joe Donaher, Ph.D is the Program Director for Research and Academics at the Center for Childhood Communication at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Joe is also a co-founder of The Stuttering Springboard!

Meet Tim Fox, a highly successful insurance professional who stutters. Tim shares his journey as a person who stutters, from "round robin reading" to a highly important business presentation. Tim has learned to manage his stutter well, but he also shares that at times, "it's everything". Tim and Brian explore life as a "covert" stutterer"... hiding it at all costs. They talk about the importance of disclosure and being grateful to having found a community of wonderful people who stutter. Don't go it alone.

In this episode, the fathers of two young men who stutter, Bob Rafferty and Dan Quinn, discuss their sons' experiences and resilience in managing their speech challenges. Brian Nolan, also a father of two sons who stutter, shares his own journey as a parent and a lifelong stutterer, and why he became an advocate later in life. What's extra special here is that Bob and Dan are the fathers of Kevin Rafferty and Conor Quinn, two Board members of the Stuttering Springboard who are changing the perception of stuttering and what it feels like to be a person who stutters.

The message from the dads: "let them". Let them be them. Don't try and fix your children. Help them build confidence by focusing on what they do well.

Welcome back Kevin. Since we last spoke Kevin's career has taken off, both in the profit and nonprofit world. In business, Kevin's journey as a wealth manager with GVA Wealth Management has taken off. Brian now uses Kevin as well and says that "nobody will work harder for you than Kevin". In the nonprofit world, Kevin is the Treasurer of The Stuttering Springboard, the new organization that was formerly known as The Noan Stuttering Foundation (listen to the podcast for more details!). Kevin explains his professional journey, through college, internships and his new level of acceptance of his stutter. His advice: disclose, disclose, disclose. It will change your world. Enjoy the podcast!

There is a lot of silence around stuttering. Many of us who stutter spent years running from it and doing everything possible to hide it… to “not be found out”. It was the stigma, how people think about people who stutter, that forced us into hiding. So, we don’t talk, we switch words and avoidance becomes our operating system. With some of us, like Pat Festa, our guest today, the light bulb goes off; the realization that we have to become activists for people who stutter, to educate the world about what it means to be a person who stutters in a fluent world. Pat is our neighbor, from Collegeville, just a few towns over. The beauty of this experience is that Pat, a young adult who stutters, found us, because we at the Nolan Stuttering Foundation have decided to stop hiding and to start educating the world. Pat is doing some exciting things. He is a teacher, an actor and about to launch a new program called “Stutter4You”. I’m joined by Pat and my associate John McDermott. John is on the Board of NSF as well as a Master Sergeant in the US Air force. Enjoy the podcast!