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by Jaan Pill
I have been involved in the founding of several self-help groups for people who stutter. Here are some suggestions on how to form a group:
- Spend plenty of time planning for and publicizing the first meeting. At that meeting, choose the date for the next meeting, and dates for meetings for an entire year.
- Ensure that all members have a sense of ownership of the group. Each person should know that she or he has a meaningful say in decision-making. Such a group is likely to continue long after the founding members have left the scene.
- Have one person act as leader of the meetings. We have found it useful to have each member lead two or three meetings in a row, if they wish.
Other general tips for a successful support group:
- Structured meetings have better outcomes than ones lacking a clearly defined purpose.
- Ensure that every person who wishes to speak will speak roughly the same amount of time at each meeting.
- Offer an open forum for sharing a wide range of viewpoints, rather than seeking to establish a consensus about how to deal with stuttering.
- In some groups, members seek to practice their fluency skills after they have completed treatment programs. Elsewhere the focus is on helping each other in whichever way is possible.
- Don't expect all members to turn up for each meeting. On average about one-third of total membership will attend a typical meeting.
- People don't necessarily attend meetings year after year. After they get what they want from a group, some members will move on to other interests. Others, however, will become involved with volunteer work in this area for the rest of their lives.
Jaan Pill is founder of the Stuttering Association of Toronto, and co-founder of the Canadian Association for People Who Stutter, the Estonian Association for People Who Stutter, and the International Stuttering Association. Contact him at jpill@ca.inter.net
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