Hiya, I am Abhishek. I am a Person Who Stutters (PWS) and have been fortunate enough to be involved deeply with the stuttering community over the years - as a participant, a volunteer, and a leader. To the extent of my leadership capacities, I:
- Lead the WeStutter@Work Committee at the NSA. Through this, we advocate for PWS in the workplace, help eliminate workplace stigmas, and improve employment outcomes for people who stutter. We aim to drive positive change in hiring practices, promotions, and professional development, ensuring a supportive work environment for all.
I also co-led the National Stuttering Association’s (NSA) Seattle Adult chapter for ~3 years where I organized monthly social meetings and annual advocacy events, facilitated discussions, and helped create a safe space for PWS in the Seattle area.
In my personal life, I am a Cloud Security Engineer (checkout my personal website here) and I like hiking, playing my violin, reading, and crocheting.
I love meeting and talking to new people. If you have comments, or thoughts or just want to say hi feel free to reach out at my personal email address (_@agarabhishek.com).
Disclaimer
Like any community, people within stuttering community hold a wide range of perspectives on key issues, such as chasing fluency, experience of struggle and the need of therapy, the role of our community, and how we fit into the broader disability movement, among other topics. What you’ll read in this blog is my take—shaped by personal experience.
So here’s the mandatory disclaimer: I am not a researcher or expert in the field. But I am someone who has stuttered all his life and has spent countless hours talking to other PWS (with all kinds of experiences and perspectives) and professionals like Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs).