Are you thinking about starting speech therapy? Or have you made the decision already? That is a big step! We want to help you make sure this decision is right for you.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself before you start:

• Why do I want speech therapy?

  • What are your goals? It might be helpful to list them out for yourself before your first session. No goal is too small! Example goals: to answer the phone confidently, order your favorite drink at your local coffee shop, introduce yourself to a stranger at the bar.

  • Be honest with your therapist about your goals. You have a right to set your goals with the therapist as a collaborative, team dynamic. If you let someone define your success for you, it might not be as effective as you think.

• Where do I see myself in 6 months? or 1 year?

  • How much of your goal(s) do you wish to achieve in a year? Be realistic with yourself, un-doing years of thinking takes a lot of time and work. It might be unrealistic to expect yourself to reach a goal in one year.

  • It might also be unrealistic to consider a goal mastered once you achieved it. For example, if your goal is to confidently answer the phone with no fear, and you did it once, it’s ok if the next time is a bit harder. It’s not a failure if you feel comfortable answering the phone one day, and the next day is harder. Progress is not linear!

Are you wondering what your treatment sessions should look like? Or what to expect from your sessions?

It’s hard to give you an overview because speech therapists should organize their sessions to fit their client’s individual needs. However, we can give you some points to consider:

• Don’t be alarmed if the first few sessions are more conversational. The speech therapist needs to get a good idea of who you are and they need to get to learn your stutter too. (Be honest with your therapist! They are there to guide you toward your goals, not to judge you)

• You are not broken, you do not need to be fixed. If your therapist is focusing on “fixing” you or changing who you are, it might be a good idea to bring up your concerns, or change speech therapists. Your speech therapist is there to guide you toward your goals, not to help and fix you.

• If your speech therapist says something that is triggering, or makes you feel uncomfortable, you have a right to speak up and talk about your feelings. Again, your speech therapist is there to guide you, they need to know the good and the bad to guide you in the best direction. Remember … therapy is supposed to make you feel good.