SLPs Who Stutter: Meet Nic Brow

Hi all! Today’s post is another “SLPs Who Stutter” series, featuring Nic Brow! Nic is actually my speech therapist, so I’m really excited to share our conversation. Before we begin, here’s a little background on Nic:

Nic is a 27 year old Speech Language Pathologist living in Boston, MA. Nic received a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Vermont and an MA in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Iowa. Nic currently runs the Sisskin Stuttering Center Boston Office.

What prompted you to become a speech language pathologist?

One of my first jobs while growing up was working at a summer camp for kids. I really loved doing that job because of the sense of inclusive community created at camp and thought it was so much fun to work with kids and adolescents. When I got to college, I started off as an Engineering and Communication Sciences and Disorders major. 

Wow, that’s such an interesting combination!

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be. Engineering was interesting, but I didn’t love it. I ended up dropping Engineering and committing to Speech Pathology. Part of me was nervous about pursuing Speech Therapy. I wondered if I was choosing Speech Therapy for the right reasons and how much my own experiences and fears with stuttering played into that choice. Was I making this choice because I stuttered or because I felt like the SLP profession would be a safer place for someone who stuttered? After meeting more people in the SLP world, I found a similar sense of community that I had experienced earlier when working at summer camps. I was also really excited about the research, therapy, and meeting other people who stutter. In the end, I was excited about being a Speech Pathologist. I also was inspired and energized by my mentor Dr. Barry Guitar, and the opportunity to attend ASHA conventions. After my undergraduate, I went on to study Speech Language Pathology at the University of Iowa. 

So, how exactly did you get into Avoidance Reduction Therapy?

I got into Avoidance Reduction Therapy (ARTs) through my connections with some amazing people through undergraduate and my graduate degrees. Dr. Barry Guitar supported me through undergraduate, and then connected me with Dr. Patricia Zebrowski at the University of Iowa. Tricia got me so excited about working with people who stutter and doing research in stuttering and was an amazing mentor to me. Near the end of my graduate program, one of my internships at a clinic for people who stutter fell through. Dr. Zebrowski reached out to Vivian Sisskin to see if she could take a student, and the rest is history. Soon after that I moved out to Washington D.C., and was introduced to Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering.

So, you were not only learning how to give the therapy, but also receiving it yourself at the same time?

I was definitely soaking it all up. Through observing individual therapy and group therapy, I couldn’t help but apply what I was learning to my own life. At the beginning, I carefully started trying out some of the ARTs practices in my own life. However, as I learned more and started to see how impactful and meaningful ARTs was for me and clients in our clinic, I started seeking out feedback from Vivian, and other ARTs clinicians about my own speech pattern and avoidances.

Was it conflicting to play both roles?

No, not conflicting, but difficult at times. When I started learning about ARTs from Vivian, I had a low frequency of stuttering, and felt like I was able to manage my stuttering pretty well and use tricks to hide it when needed. As I learned more about the therapy, I also learned more about how I was hiding stuttering and ways hiding was holding me back from fully sharing in my life. When I started applying ARTs concepts to my own experience, I started showing a lot more stuttering than I was used to, which was really frustrating and difficult at first. I wasn’t used to planning to feel shame, and then going out and doing just that. But I knew I wanted to more fully share, and I knew ARTs was helping me do that.  

You mentioned ASHA earlier in one of your answers – can you elaborate on what that is for those who don’t know?

ASHA is the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which has an annual convention. Stuttering research and therapy make up a small portion of the conference, but within that small portion, there’s an awesome community of passionate people who do research and therapy in stuttering. I’ve really enjoyed attending ASHA conventions. Although they’re sometimes overwhelming, it’s great to connect with friends, meet new people, and teach and learn from others. There’s also sometimes tensions within the stuttering research and therapy world with some people strongly supporting fluency as the end goal and others who do not.  

I know Vivian Sisskin is speaking at the ASHA conference this year. When discussed, does ARTs get a lot of attention at ASHA?

People are definitely interested in learning more about Avoidance Reduction Therapy, and it feels like interest is growing. I think the ARTs framework for therapy can be so impactful for people who stutter, and I’m excited to see how ARTs continues to grow.  

And that wraps up our conversation! If you’re in Boston and want to learn more about Avoidance Reduction Therapy, click here. The ASHA conference is coming up in just a few short weeks (November 21 – 23), so if you’re attending, be sure to catch Vivian Sisskin’s two presentations! Here is the information for the Friday session and here is the information for Saturday’s session. As always, thank you so much for reading!