Stuttering with Bailey Levis

Listen (29 min)

This picture by an anonymous 9 year old boy shows how he happily walks about, whistling and talking normally, until he trips over a “stuttering wire” and falls helpless to the ground. From Elisabeth Sederholm, Ph.D. SLP Ume University. An essay here has this and other examples of children’s drawings about stuttering.

Stuttering is caused by differences in the brain and there’s no cure for it.  What there is is significant stigma and judgment from others. Yet. . .   All the same. . .

Bailey Levis says he loves to stutter.

Bailey Levis says he loves talking about stuttering, loves teaching about stuttering, and supporting people who stutter and their families. Bailey Levis says people who stutter are not broken and don’t need to be fixed. Instead, he says, they are brave and resilient.

Today we talk to Bailey Levis about his work at the San Francisco Speech and Fluency Center, his experience as someone who stutters, and the community of those who stutter.

A new children’s book, I Talk Like a River, amplifies Mr. Levis’ message as does a wonderful organization, based in the bay area, the National Stuttering Association.  Videos of their recent conference are available free on line. And, here’s 13 year old Brayden Harrington speaking at the 2020 Democratic Convention about his stuttering and the election.

Bailey Levis

This program is hosted by Josh Elwood and Sheela Gunn-Cushman.  Production by Rod Akil, Sheela Gunn-Cushman and Adrienne Lauby.

Bailey Levis, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Licensed Speech and Language Pathologist who stutters. He is the founder of the San Francisco Speech and Fluency Center, and has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses to budding Speech-language pathologists at San Francisco State University and California State University, East Bay. He has also provided trainings on how to work with stuttering to school-districts around the Bay Area.

Original air date: 11-6-20

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