What HST is About
The “problem of stuttering” is, in many ways, what people who stutter do, feel, and think, to try to NOT stutter. Henderson Stuttering Therapy does not set out to push people’s stuttering under the surface, as that can and likely will perpetuate their experience of struggle.
There is no “one size fits all” program or “ultimate guide” that works for everyone. Each person’s experience of stuttering is centered and therapy is tailored to the individual client’s needs.
Henderson Stuttering Therapy does not seek to point out “what’s wrong” with someone, but instead seeks to help people build on strengths they already possess. We work together on building tools of management and resilience to help people move forward in life independently.
What HST Does
Evaluation and Treatment for stuttering:
Henderson Stuttering Therapy offers a two-hours-long comprehensive evaluation of stuttering and its impact. Assessment includes MUCH more than the frequency of stuttering in one sample of speech. An evaluation looks to gain insight into the ABCs of stuttering: affective (how you feel), behavioral (what you do) and cognitive (how you think). The questions driving the evaluation are: what is the person’s experience of stuttering? Where is there struggle? Where is there strength? What changes are desired?
If we agree that therapy is needed, sessions are 50-minutes and scheduled at a frequency appropriate to the needs and availability of the client/ family. Therapy sessions are individualized and collaborative. The outcomes we center are increases in ease, comfort, spontaneity, confidence and joy of communication.
Come and meet your goals at our comfortable office in the heart of Nashville!
Convenient to I-440 and other main roads.
Tele-therapy is a great option for appointments. For any reason!
From Louisville to Mobile and all places between! HST is able to see people across Tenneesee, Kentucky, and Alabama
SLP-to-SLP clinical coaching:
With years of experience consulting and coaching SLPs better serve their population, Jack is excited to offer sessions for professionals looking to learn more, problem solve, and grow in confidence working with their clients.
Individual SLP consultation sessions are booked by the hour. Group or full-practice trainings and coaching sessions are offered as well, with time and duration to be determined.
Virtual Reality Therapy:
HST has partnered with the company withVR to offer personalized VR-based therapy programs. This is a new and exciting way to simulate challenging situations from the safety of the therapy room!
Using WithVR, clients and the therapist are able to customize immersive settings to target a wide range of individualized therapy goals. Currently, WithVR has six settings: restaurant, coffee shop, classroom, kitchen table, break room at work, and office conference room.
Within these settings, we can customize avatars, design scenarios that are personalized and challenging, and work on exposure to difficult situations or reactions.
Speech therapy using WithVR will be offered as a special program starting at 6 weeks long. This is a great opportunity for folks looking for some specific practice or wanting supplemental work to therapy they might be getting elsewhere. I will be offering this technology in the office in-person only, as the physical headset is required. This is most appropriate for people ages 9/10 and up.
Shakespeare and Stuttering Groups:
“This above all- to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
When you think of Shakespeare what comes to mind? If you are a person who stutters, does it invite you or alienate you? Do you look upon these beautiful and timeless words like an outsider looking in? “That’s not for me” one might think. The phrase “all the world’s a stage” might trigger dread and not inspiration.
Well, what if we who stutter brought a proverbial folding chair to this table? What if we explored and even embraced our unique voices and claimed these texts for ourselves?
HST is starting a new 5-week group program where we aim to do just that! People who stutter will be vulnerable with one another and engage Shakespeare in a novel and stigma-busting way. This program IS NOT about using iambic pentameter or any rhythm to suppress stuttering. In fact, quite the opposite. Let’s test the boundaries of “eloquence” to include stuttering. Let’s show ourselves that any text, even Shakespeare, can have truth and beauty AND stuttering.
This initial run, starting in Wednesday 2/26, will be a “pilot” of sorts and will be capped at 5 adult participants. This will be a really special experience.
Who HST Sees
Preschool Children and Families:
While many children who start stuttering in their early years might "grow out of it", we don't have a crystal ball to predict stuttering’s trajectory with certainty. This practice focuses on improving the child's experience of stuttering, supporting families to prioritize communication over fluency, and building resiliency for everyone. The most important factor in early childhood stuttering therapy is involvement of the family and that is emphasised
School-Age Children:
As children who stutter grow and develop, the demands and experiences of stuttering shift. Children begin to interact more with their stuttering in many ways, some helpful and some less helpful. This practice’s approach with children who stutter centers the child's lived experience. Progress is not judged by some arbitrary "objective" standard but instead determined through collaboration and listening. The children are co-pilots in helping create lasting and meaningful change in their experience of stuttering. Children become more of an "expert" on their stuttering, decrease avoidance, improve attitudes, and create more comfortable and confident communication.
Teens:
Adolescence is a time of upheaval. Changing perspectives and more complex social situations can make the experience of stuttering even more knotty. While the guiding framework of HST's stuttering therapy is constant across the lifespan, teens who stutter have a unique set of needs. The focus is on making room for stuttering within their identity and setting realistic and achievable goals for increased confidence and resiliency when stuttering.
Adults:
Stuttering is not something that stops after you leave school behind. The focus with adults who stutter is making changes in areas and ways that are truly desired. Targets and topics of discussion are rooted in the client's lived experience and specific set of motivations for change. There is an immense premium on the "alliance" between therapist and client. Sessions are less like classes and more like collaborative meetings with review of past successes, client-initiated "target practice" and self-assignment setting for the week ahead.
Neurogenic/ Acquired Stuttering:
For many, stuttering is something that develops naturally in childhood. For others, it is a product of an event such as physical trauma, incident, or illness. This population's "prognosis" is as varied and individualized as any, reinforcing the lack of a "one size fits all" approach. However, for many who have acquired stuttering later in life, the experience of struggle can be extremely similar to those who developed stuttering in childhood. As such, therapy does not look too dissimilar from other populations but is, of course, completely individualized to their needs.
Stuttering and Down Syndrome:
Stuttering is a co-existing condition for many people with Down syndrome and can present with it's own set of demands. Jack has significant clinical experience with working on stuttering management with people with Down syndrome. The focus is on family support, positive reinforcement for communication, and shaping more forward-moving, tension-free stuttering.
Billing and insurance:
Henderson Stuttering Therapy is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Sheild, United Healthcare, Tenncare Wellpoint, and Tenncare.
If you have insurance with another carrier, there are multiple options regarding billing for services.
Some programs, like VR courses and Shakespeare groups, are private pay only.
SLP-SLP consultations are billed hourly and fee varies based on individual or group sessions.