Perceptions of stammering: how nurses can improve communication

People with a stammer often encounter pity or impatience, including from healthcare professionals. Here’s what nurses need to know to support patients

For people with a stammer, misperceptions and misguided intentions to ‘help’ by finishing a sentence present a daily barrier to communication, including in interactions with healthcare staff.

Here, a nurse and teaching associate who has a stammer and her colleague, a speech and language therapist, explain the impact on individuals and what nurses can do to improve both communication and the therapeutic relationship with people with a stammer.

Nurse Olivia Durning, a teaching associate for clinical skills in nursing at the University of Nottingham, describes her experiences as a person with a stammer:

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