One of the worst parts about stuttering is that our fear of stuttering can actually make it worse! That’s why it helps to work on desensitizing ourselves to stuttering. If we are more comfortable with stuttering and it doesn’t upset us as much when we do it, that fear is less likely to take over and we can be more in control of our stuttering. Desensitization means practicing stuttering in different situations so that you become more comfortable with it and it doesn’t both you as much. The goal is to decrease the feelings of anxiety and fear that come along with moments of stuttering and to just let them pass without letting them take you over. We can practice desensitization by pretending to stutter in a variety of different situations.
The prompts on this worksheet will give you a variety of different situations in which you can practice stuttering. Read through the prompts and start with the ones that seem less scary for you. For example, if you find it less scary to stutter in front of your family than your friends, start with the family prompt. Once you get more comfortable stuttering in those situations, move on to the harder and scarier ones.
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