I gained so much from the speakers and parents who are helping their kids gain self-esteem and confidence.
Since the FRIENDS convention my son has had a life–changing attitude towards his stuttering and his ability to communicate in public.
Friends truly understand the struggles and challenges we face raising a teen who stutters.
I wish we had known about Friends years ago. During the 1st night of the Friends conference I watched my daughter, who rarely spoke to anyone other than her family, speak in a microphone to a room full of people she didn’t know. Because of the acceptance and support that she felt, her confidence continued to grow during the remaining 3 days of the conference. I really believe Friends has helped her be herself during her 1st year of public high school. She actually has been raising her hands and speaking in class.
Danni has stuttered for about 11 years and I thought that I knew all there was to know about stuttering but I left the conference with a much greater knowledge of how the kids feel.
We attended our first Friends Convention in Tampa last summer. It’s difficult to express the experience we had. It was amazing! From the very moment we were there, everyone made us feel so welcome. So many wonderful families took the time to reach out to us. We were able to share our experiences with them. Up until that point, we had a lot of frustration (and at times we still do). We were always wondering if we were doing everything we could to help our son Stevie, and we worried about his future. But by meeting other families at Friends, it made us realize we weren’t alone.
Before the conference, Sophie was scared to speak with us and her friends. Something magical happened in Tampa. Sophie and the rest of our family met dozens of fantastic, energetic and positive kids, young adults and adults who stuttered. Sophie saw that not one of them was intimidated by their stuttering. Everyone was perfectly comfortable with the way they spoke. This was a major revelation for Sophie and for all of us. Over the past year, following the conference, Sophie has gained a tremendous amount of confidence and is feeling remarkably comfortable with her stuttering.
For sure stuttering is tough, but now thanks to Friends, Sophie and the rest of us know stuttering is perfectly OK. No big deal. Stutterers are in fact incredibly interesting people with great perseverance and love for life. They work hard and enjoy getting past speech obstacles.
The Friends Conference has been incredible for all of us. We will be coming for many years and look forward to meeting new friends each year.
The Four Reasons We Will Be Attending the Friends Conference Every Year:
It will change your child’s life and family’s life forever
It is a place where those that stutter feel like they are no longer alone
It is a place to meet friends that will be lifelong
It is an event that our daughter looks forward to 364 days a year until the next conference
The Tabrizi Family