About

Stutter Social is a volunteer-run organization that hosts group video chats that connects people who stutter from around the world. Participating in a Stutter Social group video chat is a fun way to connect with other people who stutter. Discussion often revolves around stuttering-related issues, but sometimes we just chat about our day or a good movie. We are a very welcoming and friendly bunch and can’t wait to meet you! Our group video chats are facilitated by official Stutter Social hosts who also stutter and are awesome at making the Stutter Social experience worthwhile and enjoyable.

The Stutter Social Story

The seeds for Stutter Social were planted after the 2011 National Stuttering Association conference when David Resnick was a guest on Daniele Rossi’s podcast, Stuttering is Cool. They couldn’t help but reminisce about the camaraderie felt amongst conference-goers and how they wanted to keep it going.

Their buddy, Mitch Trichon, had been researching the role of self-help activities in stuttering management and believed that talking to other people who stutter should be made easier on the Internet. This led him to explore the next frontier in self-help – webcam chat.

Mitch began hosting video-based support meetings on Skype, with Daniele and David as participants. David then suggested using the newly launched Google+ Hangouts because it was built to be more open and social. Daniele hosted the first few Hangouts and spread word about them across his favourite social networks. David soon had the idea of creating an organization to coordinate the group video chats and provide regularly scheduled meetings.

And thus, in December 2011, Stutter Social was born.

Samuel Dunsiger, an early participant and expert in communications, joined the Stutter Social team to help spread the word in the media. Along with the help of a dedicated team of hosts, within just a few months Stutter Social grew from something that just helped a group of friends stay in touch into an international virtual support group.

Stutter Social in the media

Being the first organization to make use of Google Hangouts to support people who stutter, there was a lot of buzz in the media in the early days includng being featured on the Google intranet!:

April 18, 2012 – Western University journalism student, Irani Seecharan, created a multimedia piece featuring Stutter Social team members, Daniele Rossi, Samuel Dunsiger and Evan Sherman talking about stuttering and Stutter Social!
April 6, 2012 – Teen Vogue gives Stutter Social a shout out in Hot topic: Teen stuttering.
March 1, 2012 – Online hangout brings stutterers together. Stutter Social co-founder, Daniele Rossi, interviewed in The Globe and Mail.
February 26, 2012 – Stutter Social with David Resnick. StutterTalk episode 322.
February 21, 2012 – Google+ ‘Hangouts’ grow in popularity, Stutter Social co-founder, David Resnick, interviewed in the San Jose Mercury News
February 1, 2012 – Stutter Social co-founders interviewed in the National Stuttering Association’s January/February issue of Letting Go (pdf, 8 pages, 4.2MB)
December 13, 2011 – Stutter Social co-founder, David Resnick, interviewed on KOMU.
December 8, 2011 – Hangouts for a Cause by Peter McDermott.
– December 1, 2011 Stutterers hanging out on Google Plus!. Stuttering is Cool episode #125. Stutter Social co-founders chat about Stutter Social and offer snippets of a typical Stutter Social chat.
Press releases – February 13, 2012 Stutter Social Co-Founder Interviewed on CBC Radio (pdf, 1 page, 575 kB)
February 13, 2012 – Stutter Social Hosted Virtual Stuttering Information Session With the American Institute For Stuttering (pdf, 2 pages, 860 kB)

Stutter Social broadcasts on YouTube

In addition to our goals of reaching people who stutter, we’re also doing our part in raising public awareness about stuttering. At the 2011 NSA Conference, the keynote speaker David Seidler (writer of The King’s Speech) said that “the story of stuttering is the story of bravery”. Mr. Seidler further said that it’s up to each one of us to tell the story of stuttering. We hope to embody this directive in future endeavors with Stutter Social.

We took advantage of YouTube's live streaming feature to host special public group video chats to help spread awareness to the general public including interviewing people who stutter with successful careers. Check out the Stutter Social Youtube channel for all our special broadcasts. Don't worry, our regular scheduled group video chats are always private and never broadcasted or livestreamed on YouTube or anywhere else.

Meet the Stutter Social co-founders

David Resnick, Chief Evangelist, is an inventor, entrepreneur, musician, and biofield researcher in Los Angeles who uses creativity and technology to facilitate fun and flow.

Daniele Rossi, Chief Digital Strategist, is a digital marketer and cartoonist from Toronto, Canada. Daniele is the creator of the Franky Banky, a cartoon fox who stutters and appears in his book Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World. Daniele also produces a podcast of the same name.

Mitchell Trichon, PhD, CCC-SLP, presents his published work at national and international conferences. He has been a faculty member teaching Fluency Disorders for over 10 years and has served on the Boards of the International Stutter Association and the National Stuttering Association. Mitch is a clinician and loves working with other people who stutter.

Research resources

Publications have supported the notion that self-help activities for people who stutter are beneficial in the overall management of stuttering

(Tetnowski & McClure, 2009; Trichon & Tetnowski, 2011; Trichon, Tetnowski, & Rentschler, 2007).

Tetnowski, J. A., & McClure, J. A. (2009). Executive summary of 2009 survey. Seminar presented at the annual conference of the National Stuttering Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Trichon, M., Bradberry, A., & Wilmoth, S. (2019). Utilization of self-help activities for an adult who stutters. In Branski R. C., Molfenter S. (Eds.), Speech–Language Pathology Casebook. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers.  

Trichon, M. & Raj, E. X. (2018). Peer support for people who stutter: History, benefits, and accessibility. In B. Amster & E. Klein (Eds.), The Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Dimensions of Stuttering: More Than Fluency. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing Inc.

Trichon, M. & Tetnowski, J. (2016). Self-help conferences and change in the experience of stuttering: Preliminary findings and implications for self-help activities. Proceedings of the Tenth World Congress, 6-8 July, 2015, Lisbon, Portugal. The International Fluency Association.

Trichon, M., & Tetnowski, J. (2011). Self-help conferences for people who stutter: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 36, 290–295.

Trichon, M., & Tetnowski, J. (2011). Self-help conferences for people who stutter: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Proceedings of the Ninth World Congress, 17-21 May, 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The International Stuttering Association.

Trichon, M. (2007). Getting the maximum benefits from support groups: Perspectives of members and group leaders. ASHA - Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders, 17(1), 10-13.