Angela Medina leads local Stuttering Assoc. chapter

Angela Medina who currently resides in Miami Lakes was born and raised in Palm Springs North. While doing her masters she had the chance to work with children who have autism, she then stumbled upon the field of speech pathology.

When she was finishing up her masters she was able to do a Ph.D program in Louisiana where she was able to do research and earn her certification in speech pathology. While in Louisiana her research was focused on autism, however she met an 18 year old bilingual who stuttered and that totally changed her path, she felt it was her calling in life.

Medina then moved back to Miami Lakes and became a professor at Florida International University (FIU). She works in the communications and sciences disorder department with a focus on bilinguals who stutter.

Medina wanted to do more, she started researching and looking for places where people who stutter meet. In 2013 the closest place was in Boca Raton, when she visited she noticed most people were from Miami. She quickly realized that there was a need for a place for people who stutter in Miami-Dade County.

By the time she started working at FIU she found the Miami Chapter of the National Stuttering Association (NSA) which at the time was lead by another gentleman in Wynwood, eventually Medina took over. Since November 2015 Medina has been running the program and this is the only one in Miami-Dade County.

Medina created an enviroment for people who stutter where they can come and talk together once a month about what is going on in their lives, what they did that past month and most importantly be a support system for each other. The group meets once a month at FIU’s main campus, the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m, for ages 18 and older.

“I hope to change their lives, I love seeing the change in them from one meeting to five months later, the condfidence built” said Medina. She is very passionate about what she does and absolutely loves it. For more information on meetings visit www.facebook.com/NSAmiami/.

Every year the NSA hosts a conference week long event, to bring awareness for people who stutter. This year the event is taking place in Ft. Lauderdale from July 3 - 7 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa. Anyone is welcome to attend and is recommended to register online at westutter.org.