Keynote presentation from the 12th Oxford Dysfluency Conference in 2021.

The psychosocial consequences of stuttering including anxiety, stigma, social isolation, negative listener reactions, and bullying are well-documented. The degree to which children who stutter experience these “slings and arrows,” and the ways in which they respond, vary. Extensive theoretical and empirical contributions to our understanding of resiliency provide strong foundations for exploring risk and protective factors related to the psychosocial consequences of stuttering. This presentation will explore resiliency theory and research to motivate a strengths-based model of resilience. Applications of the model to the assessment and treatment of stuttering in school-age children in familial, social, and academic contexts will be provided. Practical strategies for providing children who stutter and their families with the armor needed to build capacities for healthy adaptation to stuttering and to thrive in communicative interactions will be highlighted.