Stuttering Scholarship Alliance

"My name is Nathan Mallipeddi, and I am a proud person who stutters. As a part of the three million people who stutter in the United States, I have experienced firsthand the debilitating challenges of having a speech impairment. Growing up, my day-to-day interactions were undermined by my stutter, resulting in poor academic performance and an inability to build meaningful friendships. Exposure to these issues at a young age creates a vicious cycle where self-confidence and the merriment of childhood deteriorate. As a result, ~90% of children who stutter display difficulties in reading and writing, and those who stutter are three times more likely to develop mental illnesses. Once I got to college, I joined the stuttering community, as a Regional Director for the National Stuttering Association (NSA). At NSA meetings and conference, I learned the transformative nature of effective, acceptance-based speech therapy in altering the life trajectory of those who stutter. However, most of my peers explained the high costs and inaccessibility of effective speech therapy. I figured that some group was tackling this issue—no such organization existed. In response, I founded Stuttering Scholarship Alliance to tackle a critical issue regarding the lack of access to care in low income communities. I’m quite proud of the work that our team has done in transforming the lives of the voiceless—our clients’ potential is unleashed following our therapy, as evidenced by their involvements in leading national awareness campaigns and starting small businesses. My goal is the ensure that every child or young adult with a speech impairment has access to effective speech therapy to reach their full potential. If you are interested in joining our team to change the lives of persons who stutter, please contact us to get involved!" -Our Founder and CEO