A Human Approach to Stuttering and Neurodiversity

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie chats with Ana Hernandez—SLP and founder of Adult Stuttering—about why she ditched fluency therapy and never looked back. Ana breaks down the adaptation effect, why you can’t sit in the middle ground, and what it actually looks like to run an affirming stuttering session from start to finish. If stuttering has always felt like uncharted territory, this one’s your map. Bullet Points to Discuss: Why the middle ground between fluency and acceptance is hurting your studentsThe adaptation effect and why fluency strategies fail in real lifeUsing the five stages of behavioral change to meet students where they areDitching “bumpy speech” and reframing how we talk about stutteringStarting sessions with a positive speaking moment Here’s what we learned: You can’t tell a kid their stutter is okay and drill fluency strategies in the same session.Fluency strategies don’t fail because the student didn’t try hard enough—they’re just unreliable by design.Safety comes before progress. Some kids need the whole session just to feel okay being in the room.“Stutter” is not a bad word. “Bumpy speech” is out.If you’re shifting away from fluency therapy, just tell your student. Kids love honesty. Learn more about Ana Hernandez:  Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/adult-stutteringWebsite: www.adultstuttering.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/adultstuttering/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adultstuttering-ana/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adultstutteringAdult Stutter – Goals List: https://adultstuttering.myflodesk.com/slpgoals  Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:   📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/ 🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup 📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book 🎓✨ Grab your free spot at CF Bootcamp 2026 here! https://www.speechtimefun.com/cfbootcamp2026 🎤✨ The Speech Retreat is Back! Learn more and register here!https://www.speechretreat.com ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​  Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets