This episode features Harris, a young person who stutters, and his mother Shereen, offering a rare dual perspective on growing up with a stutter.Harris speaks candidly about first noticing his stutter, navigating misconceptions about intelligence, and finding his voice at STARS events.

Shereen shares how her understanding of stuttering evolved over time and how she's worked to help Harris see his own brilliance, especially on harder days.

In this episode, Harris and Shereen discuss:

• What it was like for Harris to first notice his stutter, and how that awareness has changed over time
• The misconception that stuttering is connected to intelligence, and how Harris responds to it
• Moments when stuttering felt hard, and what helped Harris push through
• How Shereen's perspective on stuttering shifted as a parent, and how she advocates for Harris at school and beyond
• The role the STARS community has played for their family, and what gives them hope for the future

Watch the video version of this podcast here:
https://youtu.be/f_TFwQbeB0U?si=_drbj0m6dAkGztZW

This episode features Tony De La Mora, a cybersecurity professional, Air Force Reserve veteran, and STARS Community Advisor whose journey with stuttering spans decades of personal resilience. Tony brings a grounded perspective to the conversation. One shaped by professional environments, military service, and the emotional weight that stuttering can quietly carry. He shares what it meant to navigate those worlds as someone who stutters, the mental health toll that often goes unspoken, and how his collaboration with Dr. Gerald Maguire has helped bridge the gap between clinical research and real-world community support. Through his story, Tony offers honest insight into what healing, advocacy, and connection can look like and why the stuttering community deserves to be seen, heard, and supported at every level.

You can also watch the video version of this podcast on the STARS YouTube channel

This episode features Pierpaolo Busan, PhD, a Tenure-Track Researcher at the University of Trieste and STARS Scientific Advisor, whose work focuses on the neurophysiological mechanisms of stuttering and rehabilitation approaches through neuromodulation, EEG/MEG, and neurofeedback. In this conversation, Dr. Busan shares what emerging science reveals about the brain and stuttering, how neuromodulation therapies may benefit people who stutter, and what he hopes the broader research community will come to better understand about this field.

You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-sBQTpAaKg