A *FREE* Training in Stutter-Affirming Therapy for Public School SLPs
Many speech-language pathologists receive limited training in stuttering during graduate school and may feel uncertain about how to effectively support students who stutter. Whether your graduate school training was last year or decades ago, you may heard that our field is moving away from a fluency focus when it comes to speech therapy for stuttering. But you may be wondering:
If I’m not focused on fluency, what exactly should therapy look like?
This presentation is designed to answer that question.
I offer a free professional development training for school districts across Washington State focused on practical, evidence-based stutter-affirming therapy approaches that clinicians can immediately begin implementing in their practice.
About the Presentation
Title: Stutter-Affirming Therapy: If Not Fluency, What Am I Doing?
Length: Approximately 1 hour (can be adjusted to fit your meeting schedule)
Format: In-person or virtual
Cost: Free
ASHA CEUs: Not available
Designed for: School-based SLPs and their interns
What Participants Will Learn
Participants will leave with:
A clear understanding of the life-impact of stuttering and the rationale for stutter-affirming therapy
Practical skills for implementing stutter-affirming therapy
Increased confidence in working with students who stutter
The presentation bridges research and real-world clinical application, helping speech therapists move from uncertainty to actionable therapy practices they can use immediately.
Evidence-Based and Clinically Grounded
This training integrates current research and contemporary approaches to stuttering therapy, including:
Stutter-affirming care
Counseling-informed practices
Acceptance and commitment-based principles
Communication participation frameworks
Desensitization and avoidance reduction
The goal is not to eliminate stuttering, but to help students communicate more freely, confidently, and authentically at school.
Available Across Washington State
I am currently offering this presentation for free to public school districts throughout Washington.
Trainings can be conducted:
In-person
Virtually via Zoom or Google Meet
During staff meetings, professional development days, or department meetings
Presentation length can also be modified to fit your district’s needs.
Request a Training
If your district or SLP team is interested in scheduling a free professional development presentation, I would love to connect.
Reviews From SLPs
“David… THANK YOU for such a wonderful presentation. It was FANTASTIC! It totally changed my understanding of how to approach stuttering therapy. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and firsthand experiences with us!”
“Thanks David! I really enjoyed your presentation and learned so much from it!”
“Thank you so much for your time, expertise, and guidance! It was a great presentation and I learned a lot! I met with one of my 8th grade students who is a stutterer and we did the 'Miracle Question' today :) It was very interesting and opened up some nice dialogue! One thing he mentioned as bothering him was friends asking him "Dude, why are you stuttering?" and we discussed a short-term goal for us could be to generate some phrases that he could use to educate his peers, using his own personal tone which might include the science behind it, with a little humor :)”
About the Presenter
I am an SLP providing specialized stuttering therapy for children, teens, and adults in Washington State. In addition to my private practice work, I also work as an elementary school SLP with the Mukilteo School District.
My clinical work focuses heavily on stuttering, counseling-informed therapy, and supporting children in developing healthier and more confident relationships with communication.
Because I work both in private practice and in public schools, the presentation is grounded in the practical realities school-based SLPs face every day.
David Sanchez, CCC-SLP
