SSEAT 

Founder's Message

Dear Reader, 

Thank you for taking the time to visit and learn more about SSEAT. My name is Stan Craig, and I am the founder and director of SSEAT.  The inception of SSEAT emerged from my own journey to find fluency. I began stuttering at four-years-old and battled my expressive language disability until I was fortunate enough to receive intensive intervention at Hollins Communications Research Institute when I was 12-years-old. My stuttering affected my life on many levels, leaving me almost mute when I was in middle school. It took me up to 17 attempts to produce an initial sound. I developed a secondary behavior of head nodding, which exacerbated my struggles to communicate with peers and teachers. Even though I persevered, plowing through my dysfluency, I was passed up for public speaking opportunities and parts in school plays. I was treated differently by kids and adults alike. 

Now a freshman in college, I fully participate in public speaking, from answering questions in classes and giving speeches, to just inserting myself in conversations with friends. While I still face episodic disfluency and have to work daily to meet my targets and adjust my breathing, my HCRI stuttering intervention changed my life, teaching me to say clearly for the first time at 12-years-old, "Hi, my name is Stan Craig." I was the youngest participant HCRI ever had at the time, and I will be forever grateful for the risk my clinicians took on me and the patience and unyielding support shown to me during my time at HCRI.                                             

Using SSEAT as a platform of advocacy, mentorship, and philanthropy, my goal is to provide a safe space for teens and young adults who haven't yet found their voices. I also hope loved ones of stuttering individuals will find resources through SSEAT that will help them better understand the life experience of stuttering and how they can be an advocate and supporter. The pillars of SSEAT, Support, Empathy, Advocacy, were created to also extend beyond stuttering, to advance awareness of other expressive and learning differences. I am proud to have raised over $10,000 for SSEAT's 2022 Philanthropic Scholarship, which was donated to Hollins Communications Research Institute in Summer 2022 to provide for two full scholarships for individuals under the age of 21 who seek stuttering intervention. An additional contribution of $1,773.37 was made to HCRI's general fund in support of their ongoing stuttering research.                                    

Whether it's browsing resources on our website or seeking support through our mentor program, I hope SSEAT provides an inclusive and inviting space for stuttering individuals and their loved ones. Please come and have a SSEAT with us, where all voices are heard.

With gratitude,                                                        

Stan Craig                                                                                                                                                     

SSEAT Founder and Director