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Belleville Regional Group

General information

Join others who stutter and the people supporting them to practice speaking in a safe and comfortable environment, gain self-confidence and explore and develop new ways to cope with stuttering.

Attendance at a support group is an invaluable opportunity for people who stutter to come together, develop a sense of community and empower each other. For many people, a support group meeting may present the first opportunity to meet another person who stutters. Our meetings are open to teens and adults who stutter along with their families and friends with an interest in learning about stuttering.

Contact information

Leader: Brad
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Meetings

Currently on hiatus

Please email Brad to express interest or request further details

Speech Therapy for Adults

It is recommended that adults who stutter try speech therapy. However, people who stutter (PWS) are individuals with different needs and expectations, and there is no one right approach. As children, PWS may have got the idea from parents or therapists that stuttering was something to "get rid of", an idea that persists into adulthood. This may have caused avoidance behaviours and guilty thought patterns that negatively impact life. Today, many therapists take a holistic approach, combining speech techniques to reduce stuttering with exploration of cognitive aspects and coping techniques. Stuttering can be managed, without being eradicated. The Stuttering Foundation has published a very useful PDF entitled Suggestions for Self-Therapy. They recommend "acceptance of the idea that you are a 'controlled' stutterer rather than a fluent speaker."

If you see a therapist, discuss what your goals are. Many PWS find speech therapy helps them with confidence and self acceptance. Others want a more rigorous approach to reduce stuttering as much as possible. Significant reduction of stuttering is a long term process that comes from being fully committed to the learning of speech techniques, and a well-disciplined, self-administered regular maintenance program after sessions with a therapist have ended.

Specialist help is available in two settings.

  1. One-to-one sessions with a speech and language pathologist (SLP). Sessions are usually one hour per week for several months. Depending on your needs and preferences, the focus can be more on learning techniques to reduce stuttering, or on strategies for accepting stuttering and reducing the build-up of negative feelings about it. Most speech language pathologists work in private practice. For a directory, click on this link to Speech-Language and Audiology Canada.

  2. Intensive courses for two-three weeks. These involve several hours a day working with a small team of therapists and other people who stutter. Courses are usually for 2 or three weeks with follow-up sessions in the months after the course. There are courses in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. See our clinics page.

 

For general information about stuttering, see our newly updated FAQs.

Clinics


Speech-Language and Audiology Canada

The Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC) website has information about Speech-Language Pathology in Canada. You can use their listing of registered speech-language pathologists to find help in your region, under find a Speech-Language Pathologist or Audiologist.


Private Clinics Offering Intensive Treatment in Stuttering

Below is a listing of professional clinics in Canada that provide intensive stuttering treatment. We do not feature a general list of practicing Speech-Language Pathologists, but recommend you use Speech-Language and Audiology Canada's list of registered practitioners (link above), or contact your provincial Speech Pathology/Audiology organization listed below.

ONTARIO:

Stuttering Treatment Clinic (Ottawa)
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Phone: 613-526-7125

Speech and Stuttering Institute  (Toronto)

SickKids Fluency Program (Toronto)
Email: Jane Brettschneider

ALBERTA:

Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (Edmonton)
Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta
Phone 780-492-2619

Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (Calgary)
Phone 403-201-7285


QUEBEC:

Montreal Fluency Centre (Montreal)


Provincial Organizations

The following are provincial organizations for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. Their websites provide listings of practitioners who have registered with them. They could also assist you with other information.

The British Columbia Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (ACSLPA)

The Saskatchewan Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Manitoba Speech and Hearing Association


Ontario Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec (OOAQ)

New Brunswick Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists NBASLPA


The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists NLASLPA


Prince Edward Island Speech & Hearing Association

Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres

 

Find a Speech Language Pathologist

There are thousands of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) across Canada, some of whom work with clinics and hospitals and others who have independent practices. But Speech-Language Pathology is a broad field, and not every SLP will have had experience treating stuttering in particular. In fact stuttering isn't even the focus of education in the field, so they may not even know very much about it. A conversation with a prospective therapist about his/her experience with treating stuttering is recommended.

Most provinces have their own governing body for SLPs to register with in order to legally practice Speech-Language Pathology in their province. You can see a list of these organizations here.  These websites have a public register to look up an SLP and ensure they are a licensed member of the profession. The registration number is what insurance companies require in order to provide clients with reimbursement for services.

Some provinces such as Nova Scotia, and also the territories, do not have a governing body, and in those cases you can find an SLP registered with  Canadian Association of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC). They have a useful database of some SLPs across Canada.

For more information about how to find an SLP in Canada, you can contact our SLP liason This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

When you contact an SLP or a clinic, the first step will be an assessment to determine the nature and extent of the stuttering and discuss the right treatment approach. Then you will schedule weekly or bi-weekly visits where the therapists will teach techniques and guide you in your stuttering maintenance practice.

It may be hard in some non-urban areas to find an SLP. Contact treatment providers in your province to see if they offer teletherapy, which may be an option.

Intensive courses are proven to give the most results in producing fluent speech for people who stutter. Depending on the person, the lasting effects of this fluency depends on a rigorous follow-up maintenance program. When attending an intensive course, the patient attends every day for 2-4 weeks, and arranges follow-up sessions afterwards, sometimes for a year or more. These programs exist in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. For more information see our Clinics page.

Provincial Organizations

The following are provincial organizations for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Their websites have listings of therapists who have registered with them. They could also assist you with other information.

For those in the territories, please use the link for the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

The British Columbia Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (ACSLPA)

The Saskatchewan Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Manitoba Speech and Hearing Association


Ontario Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec (OOAQ)

New Brunswick Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists NBASLPA


The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists NLASLPA


Prince Edward Island Speech & Hearing Association

Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres

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