Stuttering Support Organisations – USA & Canada 

 USA

National Stuttering Association
119 W. 40th Street, 14th Floor
New York
USA
Phone: +1 212 944 4050 (1800 937 8888 in USA)
Fax +1 212 944 8244
Email: info@westutter.org

National Stuttering Association (NSA)

By far the biggest support organisation for people who stuttering in the USA (and the world) is the National Stuttering Association. This Association was formed in 1999 and has over 3000 members across the USA and Canada. The catch phrase of the Association is “You are Not Alone”. This catch phrase was born out of the understanding that many people who live with some form of stuttering tend to believe that they are alone in dealing with their problem due to the fact that it is rare to meet another person who displays stuttering. Although 1% of the population has some form of stuttering it is a fact that many people who live with stuttering are adept, to varying degrees, at hiding the physical symptoms.

Members meet on a regular basis in their local communities and help each other by providing support, peer counselling and friendship. Members have a common bond and the sense that they are not alone. At meetings, individuals are able to share personal experiences, learn from one another, develop new ways to cope with stuttering and share information about professional treatment. Many self-help groups also provide a local or regional focus for outreach, advocacy and education to the surrounding community.

The self help groups are called Chapters. Each self-help group is unique in terms of its leadership, membership and operation. NSA self-help groups are found in various settings, from speech clinics to private living rooms. However, there are certain basic principles and common experiences that can be shared. NSA has an extensive list of materials on how to start and facilitate self-help groups.

The Association has a monthly newsletter called Letting Go and continues to be filled with personal stories and articles about stuttering and professional treatment. Their membership consists of people who stutter, including adults, teens and children and family members and treating professionals. They hold an annual convention and each is held in a different capital city in the USA.

Website: http://www.nsastutter.org/

To locate a Chapter of the NSA near you click on the State on the interctive map below.

Friends Who Stutter

FRIENDS is a US national based organization created to provide a support network for children and teenagers who stutter, their families, and the professionals who work with them.

Website: http://www.friendswhostutter.org/

Passing Twice 

Founded at the 1993 National Stuttering Association (NSA) convention in Washington D.C., Passing Twice is an informal network of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender stutterers and their friends. Passing Twice meets every year at the NSA convention, and also holds workshops at other stuttering conferences around the world. In between, we keep in touch through a quarterly newsletter, an e-mail list, and an annual mailing list.

Website: http://passingtwice.com/