What We Do

This is a self paced, free online course, where you learn basics of self help in small chunks. You make lots of videos / record phone audios and get expert feedback about your overall communication. You learn techniques and how to practice them in different situations. You learn from other participants by seeing their videos and their feedback. Here is the feedback from the first batch of participants. Here are more details:
A self paced online free course

Self Help Groups: Run by volunteers, these groups meet in a public space, like park and are coordinated by an experienced volunteer. There is no fee. Only request is- dont use it to promote any paid service, gadget or unverified approach. Dont advise people how to speak. City wise Details (below).

We have recently switched to Telegram group to accomodate all members at national level. See the rules before you post. The best use of this group is to practice phone talk with others, who may be free. You can also practice English conversation, mock interview, cold call, share your presentation video and get feedback. Another important point to note: all hangouts, workshops, Conferences, online events are announced in THIS group. For many pws, it is a big emotional help to know that there are thousands like him or her around.

Covid brought many problems but it alo forced us to think innovatively. TISA is organising 1-2 hangout everyday, where you can get answers, learn and practice techniques and generally, have fun and a satisfying feeling of being connected with humanity. Most of these hangouts are hosted on Google meet or Skype, which can be accessed from any mobile handset. You just have to be punctual and speak when requested and keep your mic mute when not talking. To get the most out of these hangouts, you should come prepared, having thought about the topic and having browsed the link given in advance, if any. Attitude is everything.

And not to forget, you can learn mindfulness, Yoga, Pranayam  etc. on Sundays, from Soma, Dhruv and other practitioners in these hangouts.

TISA has formulated a three day workshop, outlining basic concepts and essential practices of self help: stammering interviews, longest stammering awards, stutter show and sharing our stories in a group. These are organized at a convenient central location of a region. Participants bear the cost of their board, lodge and venue charges. Here is the Siliguri workshop report, conducted in Feb. 2020.

Communication workshop, Herbertpur, 2013
Communication workshop, Herbertpur, 2014
Jaipur Workshop 2017
Siliguri Workshop, 2020
Herbertpur Workshop 2019

In recent years, we are conducting workshops on allied themes, like mindfulness, Emotional health etc.
Banglore workshop, 2019 (Looking Back to look forward)
Mindfulness Workshop, Herbertpur 2019

In the winter of 2011, we, 45 pws, met in Bhubaneshwar, for the first time, against all odds. Because JP believed that a large national level gathering will convince pws that they are not alone and that living LIFE now with stammering- is any day better than waiting for a “cure” for ever. Since then, every year, we have met in ever increasing numbers and at diverse locations- talent show, side trips, presentations, great conversation- and jamming too. Women who stammer have also began joining in large numbers. Here is Bhopal 2019 NC report in Hindi (pdf).

We have a help desk, which responds to calls for help, either through emails or over phone. Dr Satyendra Srivastava (aka sachin), a counselor and a social worker, based near Dehradun, is also available for free one on one sessions or through video conferencing. Peer counseling is based on the idea that an older pws, who has dealt with challenges of life successfully and is inclined to serve others selflessly can easily offer support and teach practical ways of self help to a pws in distress, often in a much more convincing manner than other ways. You can get in touch with us at info@stammer.in. Always share, a little background ( city, age, education, career, family details, therapy history and WHAT exactly you want from this consultation).

We write poetry, paint, tell stories, sing, dance.. besides stammering. Yes, we do lot of interesting things, especially after we step out of that obsession of finding fluency and Cure.
TISA encourages such expressions and tries to showcase them on our channels. Creativity is a natural channel for pain and suffering to flow through. You can look through such posts, using category filter “Creative expressions” on this page.
Here is a storyteller and a poet, Mohit Mudita Dwivedi, who recently participated in Bhopal NC.
हाँ मैं हकलाता हूँ 

A group of senior pws, offer career counseling and other useful ideas to young pws in SHGs and in online sessions regularly. A large number of our members are from IT background, where requirements,  roles and technology is changing rapidly. These peer connections, beginning from TISA, are often helpful.

For young pws, when nothing works, TISA offers free personal coaching sessions at Herbertpur (near Dehradun), under supervision of Dr Satyendra Srivastava, a social worker and counselor. Here they get answers to their questions and get a chance to communication skills under challenging situations. This facility is for those who have been in touch with TISA for sometime and who have done the necessary homework by reading Apna Hath Jagannath and participating in Mooc. Here is a sharing from our last participants, Naresh Parihar, who spent some weeks in Herbertpur, during corona lockdown:

City wise details are available on SHG page.

You can start a new SHG in your town, where you work OR online (whatsapp, Mobile phone group, Google Hangouts, Skype etc.). But to begin, it needs some courage and commitment. You must learn as much as you can, by going through the resources listed here, so that you can help others in practical ways. Attending couple of sessions in some other SHG may help greatly. Genuine friendship and mentoring is the best gift you can give to the other pws.  In the process, your own growth is ensured.

Not difficult, but we must take our role seriously and learn the trade well. To coordinate a SHG session week after week, you need to be good at researching and generating new ideas for activities, themes and exercises. You also have to be a good facilitator- asking questions, listening attentively and with empathy, challenging assumptions etc: With practice, you can become that ‘cool dude’ who speaks little but makes sure that participants are deeply involved and learn something new and challenging in the process, in every session. Various skills involved are introduced in this documentary below. Obviously you need to learn a lot MORE, to teach others a little. So browse the resource section above frequently- especially self help manual ((pdf: Hindi, English). Research on internet, talk to friends, above all – be open to learning. Here rae some more free resources for facilitators/ coordinators:

TISA_SHG_Manual (It offers Five sample session plans to get a new SHG going.)

How to make an SHG endure? An internal review to learn lessons from SHGs

Neuro-linguistic programming 

Art of listening (Rita Thurman)

More ideas from Michael Sugarman