#51 The Spirit of SLP with Steff Lebsack
“And when the world isn’t listening to people who stutter and not giving them a voice, that’s terrible. And I think it’s made me advocate even more. I think that it’s even children. Like I think it’s made me realize that as a clinician, it’s not about me at all. It’s not it’s my education gives them a template and it’s their stutter, not mine”
BIO
Steff Lebsack became a speech-language pathologist because she has an older brother, Jasper, who is a person who stutters. Steff focuses clinically on the treatment of stuttering and cluttering and is the current course designer/instructor for the graduate Fluency Disorders course for the Baylor University online Master’s Degree Program. Steff believes that her role in the field of speech pathology is a life passion and not a career. She lives with her husband Kevin, her two beautiful young children Mary and Karter and a pug named Ritchie. When she isn’t playing with her kids or catching up on stuttering current events, she can be found baking, writing or reading. She can even be found playing piano or the drums if you are brave enough to listen.
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
0:00-22:30- introductions;
22:30-38:00 stuttering and shifting it in acceptance, giving them the keys; chats with Dr. Phil
38:00-47:25: Transcending Stuttering Cohort & meaning behind it
47:25-54:40: empathy in life and therapy; nicknames around the SLP community
54:40- 1:08:38 love and marriage with Kevin; end
RESOURCE LIST
MORE QUOTES
“There's no difference between me and anybody else. Mine just happens to be called lung disease. Everybody has something. And when you think of physical pain and mental health pain, to me, they can both hurt just as bad.” - Steff Lebsack
“And so when I started to involve myself in the stuttering community, even as a speech pathologist that doesn't stutter. People in the stuttering community accepted me for who I was, despite that I didn't stutter. And it was really, really beautiful.” - Steff Lebsack
TRANSCRIPTION:
Uri Schneider: Well, here we are my name is Uri Schneider and it is a distinct privilege. You will understand why I am dressed like this. My guest, uh, insisted that I show up in this outfit. Uh, it's not something that was sent to me, but it's actually something in my wardrobe. Um, for those that are listening and can't see.
Got my shades. I got my Hawaiian polyester I'm opting in, but, uh, we'll find out why my guests insisted that I wear this outfit, but she, she calls the shots. And, uh, let me just tell you who we have the privilege to be with Steph lib SAC became a speech language pathologist because she has an older brother, Jasper.
Who's a person who stutters. I didn't know that until I got the bio. Steph focuses clinically on the treatment of stuttering and cluttering. And he's the current course designer and instructor for the graduate fluency disorders course at Baylor university. Online master's degree program. Steph believes that her role in the field of speech language pathology is a life passion, not a career.
She lives with her husband, Kevin and her two beautiful young children, Mary and Carter, and a pug named Richie. What about the cats? All right. When she isn't playing with her kids or catching up on stuttering, current events, she can be found baking, writing, or reading, maybe even tattooing. I don't know, but she can even be found playing piano or drums.
If you're brave enough to listen. Now what's not in the bio. I'll let Steph tell you. But if you know stuff like so many of us do, she's probably one of the most networked, beloved, remarkable people that I know. In the sense that, uh, to know her is to love her. Um, and what she's been going through the past few months has been quite a whirlwind.
And for those of us on the outside, we just care a whole lot about her and her family. And we are inspired how they continue to pull through with resilience and faith and a big shout out to, to Kevin. You know, if it, if it was an international day, celebrate women yesterday, say it should be the international data, celebrate Kevin and all the spouses that are there to support each other as try to, to pursue being our best selves and also helping our spouses to go out and do what they're there to do.
And then for those of us dealing with. With different health-related challenges. It takes a family, it takes a community. So it's great. Pleasure. I know there are a lot of people coming in from all over drop your likes, drop your comments. I know that Steph is going to reply to each and everyone. So, uh, without further ado, Steph lab sack coming out is live from Colorado.
Steff Lebsack: Hello? I brought my ice cream.
Uri Schneider: Why'd you do that
Steff Lebsack: because you like Ben and Jerry's, but this is the best kind
Uri Schneider: little, do you know that before we got on, I was listening to my playlist with Trey Anastasio. No, I like your shades. Thank you. So what's the deal with the, why do I need to, you
Steff Lebsack: have to wear that because you wore that to our class one time and I just thought it was fetched.
So.
Uri Schneider: Yeah, I don't think anyone's going to sign up for the next round of transcending, stuttering. Uh, the cohort press LP training. If they know that this is the way I show up to the class. Okay.
Steff Lebsack: Well, I mean, I don't know. I just thought, I mean, I thought it looked fly, so people do funny things for me as Scott Yares about that.
Uri Schneider: Okay then. So tell me, uh, what time is it? You're you're at 8:00 AM. 8:00 AM.
Steff Lebsack: Yeah. In Aurora, Colorado. It's 8:00 AM. Yeah.
Uri Schneider: Wow. fish food for breakfast.
Steff Lebsack: Yeah, it's it rocks? My, my five-year-old calls it salmon ice cream. That's what he
Uri Schneider: calls it. That's awesome. That is awesome. So we're going to talk about it, whole bunch of things, and maybe I will take off the shades, but I'm here to talk about, thank you.
You know, I think it is fascinating for those of us who don't stutter, how in the world we became so passionate about the world of stuttering and the issue of stuttering and people who stutter and the stories of courage and triumph. And then. For those of us who go through things in our own lives, how that informs us and how that emboldens us in our own facing our own challenges and things definitely want to hear about your experiences as a speech language pathologist, and now dealing with some of those communication things related to the health-related journey that you're on.
Um, and then just be in being who you are, all the projects you're involved in writing a book, multiple books, um, Being involved in the community, around the world, offering support and insight. And as, as, as easy going as you are everybody in the cohort who didn't know you, when you start talking and sharing your wisdom bombs, people just fall off their chair because first of all, you're so unassuming.
Second of all, you're so kind third of all, you're going through. Quite quite around of health-related stuff. I mean, if I'm not mistaken, you finished the last semester on your last, last breath before you were like helicopter to the ICU, but you meant to finish teaching first, right? Yeah.
Steff Lebsack: Yeah. I, I like to get resuscitated and wake up and I'm like, I'm going to teach.
And this last time my husband was like, nah, he finally drew a line. I guess my boss, I work at Baylor's compares. Um, I teach the graduate stuttering course, uh, Baylor. And, um, and I usually teach from the hospital. Like, that's my thing. I've done it probably over 20 times. And I remember too.
Uri Schneider: Not the office.
No,
Steff Lebsack: my office is the hospital, but, um, and I do that a lot. And so that's my norm. And my students are just like, if you have me for classy, just deal with it. And, um, it's just
Uri Schneider: part of the experience. First of all, we're going through a pandemic. So some people don't know what is this issue you're dealing with.
It's not related to COVID to what I know. And also. Why don't you just call in sick? I think a lot of people take a, what's called a medical leave to kind of set aside work responsibilities and take care of themselves. What's what's that, first of all, what's the nature of what you're going through, because I do think a lot of people are curious to understand and to know as much as we don't know.
And second of all, why don't you just call in sick?
Steff Lebsack: So that's not my vocabulary. I don't do that. Um, so I have a condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia. I was born with it. I was a preemie baby and usually babies grow out of it and I did it. And so, um, it's something that's kind of come back to visit me in adulthood and something that after I had my children, my health kind of started to change.
Um, and something that's kind of become what they think is possibly like a degenerative. Lung condition process. So I've had probably, I would venture to say over 30 hospitalization since COVID was a thing and knock on something I've yet to get COVID, which is amazing. Um, which just goes to show my healthcare workers that I've had are just amazing.
Um, but I'm still working like I'm considered disabled, but. I refuse to stop working because my mind is still really, really sharp. And so it keeps me going. And so I teach my graduate course on, um, stuttering from the hospital a lot, and my students just know me to do that. Um, and so, um, usually I teach it from ICU or wherever I'm at.
The only time I don't teach is if I'm on a ventilator, because of course he can't speak. Um, and so I've taught it. Extremely medicated and not remember teaching it. Luckily stuttering's long-term memory for me so I can teach it with a hand tied behind my back. And I wrote the course. And so I know it, um, thankfully, and I don't remember teaching most of those times, probably two of those times.
I remember doing, um, the rest of them. I don't remember doing so. Um, so like last Thursday I stopped breathing and I had to be resuscitated after like six rounds of CPR. So I wake up and I'm like, I got to teach. And that was the one time my husband was like, no. And I was like, no, come on. And I guess my boss, like, they texted behind my back and like drew the line for the first time ever.
And I was like, what? They, I was like, okay, fall back asleep. Like, I don't remember any of that happening. So probably a good call that they did that. But. Then my students docked me and found my caring bridge website. And we're like, Oh my gosh, like what happened? And everybody flipped out and found out what happened.
And anyways, I'm good. Just, that's a normal thing. Like stop reading, go back to teaching. That's just my routine.
Uri Schneider: So one of the things, one of the things we talk about, one of the things we talked about with stuttering is how important it is to kind of. No, what's up for the person who stutters to be informed to know what stuttering is and what it's not, because it is so probably one of the most enigmatic and hard to understand, hard to grasp.
So misunderstood. And we talk about for people who stutter to kind of inform others, what's up, what it is, what it's not and how they want people to treat them. So when it comes to you in this health journey, you're going through, what would you say is like in simple terms, how would you suggest we. Relate to you or think about how we like, should I invite you to speak at a conference?
I remember the first time that you reached out to me, you were like, what should I do? I'm lined up for this ENT conference tomorrow. And I can't see, I kind of came out of here. I can't see, I think. I think I sh I think I could pull it off. I just can't see. What should I do? Right. I remember
Steff Lebsack: that I, I was on the ventilator in July, and I did a lot of things with my cell phone while on the ventilator, including agreeing to speak at this major international conference.
And I woke up. Very brain damaged from lack of oxygen to the brain, including my mind. If you guys have seen the movie 51st States, that's how my brain was. So all three of my sections of my course, I was teaching had to be given to other people because I couldn't remember who was coming in my room. I was getting headaches.
I started having seizures, which I still do in my sleep. Sometimes they wake my husband up at night. Um, And all these things started happening. Um, but I had a cell phone. I spent $700 on Vera Bradley online. Don't give me a cell phone. If I'm on, like my next tattoo, I get one every time I have a bad appointment that scares me.
It needs to be, do not hand her cell phone while she is intubated. I mean, it's bad. It's like I do things. I message people, things. I don't remember it. It's the legit bad. Um, and so it's kind of becoming a running joke, like the jokes of the things I do while I'm on a ventilator. Um, cause I'm pretty high functioning, but not it's.
Weird. Um, and so, um, I agree to do this conference and then I like snap into it and I'm like, what did I do? Like, I can't speak right now. And so I reached out to her and I'm like, what do I do? Like, I agreed to do this conference. What do I say? What do I do? It was a little crazy. And I told the people like I I'm on a ventilator.
I can't talk right now. Like, it was really bad, but no, for me, like, I think, um, See, like my brother, you know, as I said, my brother's the one who grew up as a person who stutters not me. And so I don't claim to know what it's like to grow up as a person who stutters. But for me, um, I feel like people who stutter understand me more than.
Most people, which is really interesting because, um, when you experienced something that is supposed to come automatically, like speaking. Um, like breathing, there are some parallels, you know, for me, it hurts to read every time I breathe for me, my speaking, you know, my doctor starting to talk about a potential trade vent placement.
And so I may lose my ability to speak as a speech pathologist. And if I do, then there are going to be some accommodations that are going to have to be made. And so. It's interesting. When you talk about a life experience and something that's supposed to come automatic, there's some parallels there. And so when I started to involve myself in the stuttering community, even as a speech pathologist that doesn't stutter.
People in the stuttering community accepted me for who I was, despite that I didn't stutter. And it was really, really beautiful. Um, and like when I first got diagnosed with this thing, when I first realized what was going on, I tried to join a support group, for example. And I joined this like COPD support group.
Cause what I have is kind of like COPT, but it's not. And everybody was double my age, which isn't a problem with me. I don't care about age. That's cool. I can jive with everybody, but, um, but everybody. Right away. Wanted to ask about my pulmonary numbers. They're like, what are your, what's your FEV number?
You know, that's code for, um, how much, you know, lung volume do you have when you expire, you know, breathe out. And they asked me my numbers and when I told them my numbers at 33 were already worse than. People at 75. And when I realized that people were like, I'm so sorry for you, you have kids. I'm so sorry for you.
You have a family. I'm so sorry for you. You never smoked. And I didn't want people to tell me that I didn't want to hear, I'm sorry for you. I didn't want to hear how bad it was going to be. I didn't want to hear, well, this is going to get worse and this is what you're going to look like. I didn't want to hear any of that.
And so. I found myself more in stuttering support groups than I did in lung disease, support groups, and people accepted me and they taught me more. Like I learned more about living and acceptance and thriving. How do I be a mom with lung disease? How do I. Do these things with lung disease and keep going and have a job and have a career and thrive.
That's what I wanted to know. I didn't want to talk about numbers and feel like a data plot, you know? And, and so I think that's where people who stutter are coming from where, when they say I have a voice and I want to research with you, not at you, because that's how I feel when it comes to my lung disease.
Now I despise it when they're like, let's do some tests and let's do this. And like, that makes me mad, you know? And so I. There's kind of some parallels there. Um,
Uri Schneider: so yeah, interrupt you. But I think the idea that's kind of a wild idea probably for wherever you're coming from. You know, if you're someone living with respiratory stuff for you or someone living with mental wellness stuff, uh, you kind of think you got to find your group, your people.
So it's kind of surprising that you found your best support, not necessarily in the company of people with a similar condition, but in the company, people who stutter. That's fascinating. And I think for people who stutter, it might be fascinating to realize that what, what happens in a space of really special and, uh, and wholesome, uh, stuttering self-help support.
Can be something that transcends just stuttering. It can be something that, that enlivens all of us. I know, I feel that for myself as an ally, as someone that tries to be a part of that community, mostly as a listener and as a learner and sometimes contributing hopefully in good ways, but I am enlivened and catapulted into a better state of living through both the honest sharing of the challenges that people are dealing with.
But also the incredible examples of perseverance. And as you said, it's not just surviving, but in some cases, thriving through that adversity. And I think it's just fascinating and amazing. And what a, what a fortuitous thing that you already knew it existed. So you can just have right in. So you're saying the community of around this issue, you felt was more of like sympathy and like, um, projections of like basically the writing is on the wall and you weren't looking for that.
You were looking for.
Steff Lebsack: Yeah, right, right. And I didn't want sympathy. I wanted empathy. Like, I didn't want. People to say, I'm sorry for you. I didn't want people to say, Oh, you have children. That's horrible. Like I was newly diagnosed and I was scared. And even though I have a tattoo that says fearless, like I was scared and I didn't want to admit it.
Then I was new. I wanted somebody to tell me it's going to be okay. And I wasn't, I wasn't hearing that at all. Um, you know, I had one person, um, private message me in the group and he happened to be a dad of a Baylor. Girl that I went to college with. So it was like a super small world. And he said, Hey, don't listen to them.
It's going to be all right. I had one person tell me that. And so it was just, you know, I heard more of what I wanted to hear at the time for my mental wellness, um, through stuttering. Support groups. And so, um, since then I've met one girl, um, cause it's, it's really hard. Um, and, and this is going to sound kind of morbid, but it's really hard when you have a chronic condition because your side finding friends die.
And so it's, it's hard to want to find support because. They go away. And so when you do find support, I've had two friends that have gone away recently, even in, so it's hard to want to do it again, but I actually just met somebody last week, who is 33 that has COPT. And she walked into the lobby when I was at my last appointment, like she owned the place, had the cutest boots and the cutest oxygen hose.
And I had to talk to her and I told her, I said, I said, Hey girl, right there. I didn't know what to say. And I said, Hey girl, right there. And I pointed and she goes, yeah. And we started talking and I said, Those boots are super cute. Where'd you get 'em and then I said, does your insurance pay for that? And it was this cutest little oxygen hose, and I have to wear oxygen.
Sometimes when I flare, I have to wear it at this angle, you can't see it off camera, but this big, huge concentrator that makes a lot of noise. And that that's when that is a thing for pride for me. Like once I go on oxygen, Ooh, like that bug bugs me. Um, and so we got to talking and we have kids and she has a bunch of tattoos like me.
So it's a mental health thing like me and. We had so much in common. And I finally like accepted and met somebody who is going through something similar to me. And it was so empowering and I'm really good friends with Daniella Rossi. And, um, he told me he was like, that's what it's like, like, that's what it's like when you connect with somebody.
And I thought, okay, I get it. Like I completely get it. So I still completely feel like people who set or get me more, but I finally was ready to accept. And meet somebody like me, who is in this somewhat of a degenerative process, but that's okay. We weren't scared of it. We weren't, you know, And it's really, really cool.
Um, and that's why stuttering support groups are so important. You know, that's why as an SLP, you're truly doing a disservice. If, if your client, you know, if the person you're serving is ready to connect with others, then you need to be connecting with others and making that a part of the therapeutic process.
Uri Schneider: As most people know, I sometimes put on filters on my face during these interviews, I'll do a couple of surprising things. I've never shown up wearing a polyester. Hawaiian suit, but Steph comes out to play. Steph comes out to play. She also brings her posse. So I just want to give a shout out to some of the folks.
Oh my gosh, we got the whole international community here. We got Carolina from Canada. We got Madison. We got Edmond. We got. Yeah. He says Edmund agrees with the March nine is now international Kevin live sack date. It's on, it's on it's official. We'll talk to Joe Biden and we'll see if we can get it on the, uh, yeah.
Kev you're on man. Maybe we'll get an appearance. Awesome. Kevin, great woman is a very great man. Um, Victoria Wiggins, of course, from, uh, UK and then Anita coming at us from Scandinavia and John Gomez always opting in, these are some of your posse. I can't go on and on, but we've got, we've got more people watching this live and commenting than we ever have.
So Steph, your posse definitely came out. So, you know, so the stuttering support, but what Anita said, I really liked in the comments, you know, it's about, it's about, um, The special thing that happens in special places is people connect to something beneath what surface deep. And, uh, when we connect at the surface, we're looking at what's similar.
And then we look at what's different and anything that's different is, is often judged to be not up to par. Or if, to feel, you know, different and unacceptable. But I think what, what I've come to love from working with people who stutter and discovering the strength and beauty of the Stanley stuttering family and stuttering support around the world is this incredible.
Warmth and, and respect, but it's really bigger than the stuttering. And that's what Anita was saying. It's not about that. It's about the way to human beings or a community of humans give space, hold space for one another. And it's kind of like your fortune that you were into this before that you knew it was there in a selfish way.
You were able to tap in at a time when you needed it most. So I think it also speaks to the give and take. I think professionals need to realize that we're not just here as givers and as fixers or as therapists to sit on some. Thrown on the contrary, we're there to serve, but we also receive, there's a reciprocity.
There's a give and take. Um, how are you shifting the way you're thinking about stuttering and about being a therapist, clinician, professor, for your students through this experience that you're going through, because clearly it's been a, it's been a, a transformative one and you're still on it, but has it changed the way you think about stuttering?
Has it enhanced the way you think about your work and about training students?
Steff Lebsack: It definitely has. Um, I tell students that if they happen to get me as a professor first off, I'm the net in the family. Um, I just pulled a huge prank on Scott. Yares you'll probably hear about it. Um, I do funny stuff. I make people do funny things.
Obviously you're wearing a Hawaiian jacket, um, but. But, um, yeah, if, if they get me as an instructor, they get a kind of a lesson in empathy and, um, they kind of learn flexibility because my students, um, I mean, I literally was getting resuscitated during this last time, last week. And so they had to like somebody message and said, there's an emergency.
You need to watch a recording this week. And my students, of course. We're like, is she okay? Like what's going on? And I warn them when we started the trimester. Like I hope to finish with you guys. I hope that this thing happens, but this is my situation. And they re they roll with it. They roll with it.
Every trimester, they, they are amazing. My students help me thrive. They're part of my journey and seeing their faces, um, keeps me, literally keeps me going. And, um, I can't, I mean, I tell them I will not stop teaching until I cannot talk. And when I cannot talk, I will use assistive technology. Like I am determined.
Like I will talk with a computer and teach my class. Um, Cause I just, I just will. Um, I just, I love teaching is what I know I've taught since I was four years out of grad school and I've done it, done it for so long, but it's just what I love and love to do. I love to see students learn and thrive and, and, but it has changed, um, my view.
I mean, people who stutter. Love to have some sort of control over their own stutter. And that makes sense, you know, um, when we're treating an entity that's described as a loss of control, um, anytime you can give them the keys is, is amazing. And that is what I've learned. I mean, when I'm my breathing, is that okay?
Control it doesn't feel good. Um, it doesn't, and when doctors aren't listening to me, it feels even worse. And when the world isn't listening to people who stutter and not giving them a voice, that's terrible. And I think it's made me advocate even more. I think that it's even children. Like I think it's made me realize that as a clinician, it's not about me at all.
It's not it's my education gives them a template and it's their stutter, not mine. Completely and wow. And I think it's,
Uri Schneider: yeah, you need your voice. Cause you got to keep going. Go ahead. And then I'll talk to you about your voice therapy. Yeah.
Steff Lebsack: Um, and so I think that's what I've learned because I've experienced some things, you know, there's one time I couldn't breathe and a doctor took away my phone to communicate and that's what I use to communicate.
Um, even when I'm out of it, apparently. I had a PT come in week and a half ago. And she brings in this Walker and she's like, Hey Steph. And I'm like, hi. And she goes, like, she knows me. And I said, I I'm stuff. And she goes, I'm Jamie. I met you last. Wake with my student and I'm like, no, no clue. Um, and apparently I used my phone while on the ventilator to communicate with her the whole time.
And she had a student with her and the student. Um, she told us, Oh, this is a great experience for you. We never see people do this. You can tell she's a speech pathologist she's using her phone to communicate with.
Uri Schneider: I think unlocking all the technology that exists behind the. Accessibility features in your general iPhone.
Amazing.
Steff Lebsack: And so she brings in this Walker and she goes, that's how I knew how to bring in the Walker. You told me you have a Walker at home. She said, we told you, you have two daughters. And he got really mad and corrected us. That's something I would do. And anyway, so I use my phone to communicate a lot and I was in this situation where I couldn't breathe and fighting debris.
Just getting, I will admit now I wasn't willing to admit this before, but starting to get challenging, I will say that. Um, and so they took away my phone and how it was trying to explain something. And every so often my breathing issues are mistaken for his anxiety attacks and there, excuse me, here goes my voice.
See, um, and they're not right. They're not anxiety attacks. And so, um, I was trying to explain that to them and my husband, wasn't there to advocate he's my POA when I'm not able to make medical decisions, which happens sometimes, obviously. Um, and so I was communicating with him and they took away my phone and they said, if you can, if you can sign to us and you can talk to us.
And I, I flipped out, like I went ballistic and I got mad and, and I thought to myself, this must be how people who stutter feel all. The time, like all the time, and I'm not a six-year-old child saying that's being told to be fluent. And, and that got me, that made me so upset. And when I get mad and I think this is why I'm so passionate about.
Treating stuttering because, and it took me a while to realize this. Cause I once had a person who stutters tell me, Steph you're too passionate about this stuff. And I was like, well, what does that mean for me? Cause you stutter, you know? Um, but every time I get mad it's as if someone's telling me to watch my brother getting.
Like jumped in, punched in the face, like every time. And that's how I take it. I take it that personally, because I mean, that must be how someone who stutters feels every time they get uninterrupted or every time. And, and that was just a glimpse for me. And so, I mean, that's why we have to keep educating and that's why we have to keep advocating and people who stutter can speak for themselves.
They don't need us to save them, but. That's why I keep going, because just those glimpses of experiences when they took away my phone, or I've had times when I've been called the girl who can't talk. And I've been, I've had times where I have been called, Oh, the girl, you know, people tell me, Oh, you need new longs for people.
You know, people make fun of which it's not funny, you know, but. Just those little experiences I've had through my journey. I'm like, this is just a glimpse of what it's like, and that, that feels, feels your fire, you know? Um,
Uri Schneider: just say, I mean, I think stuff also speaks to sometimes you need to educate people.
Sometimes we just, if we turn on that tap of empathy and if we find ways through films, like, uh, John Gomez film, which will be screening this Sunday night with us centering scholarship Alliance, but a wonderful coalescence. We stand in the shoes and we understand there's so many great films, actually Thursday, I'm interviewing Mike Cerner from Oregon.
The way we talk, you know, um, just the empathy piece that I think the beauty of what you're talking about is if people would just be able to stand in the shoes of another person, you don't need to be taught how to respond. If you just are able to understand what it might be like to stand in those shoes immediately, you know what to do.
There's a story I think of, I think it comes from Stephen Covey's book where, um, New York city subway, pretty crammed people. Don't get too close to one another. You don't talk to one another, you don't make eye contact. COVID might change things. Probably not New York city. Subway has been like that forever, but a guy gets on at like 180 first street and he gets on with like three rambunctious kids and everybody's minding their own business, trying to read the morning paper, reading their Kindle, listening to their podcasts, probably transcending, stuttering podcasts who knows.
And, uh, these three kids get on the train and they are running all over the place. And people are getting a little bit annoyed and his dad he's like totally aloof, totally spaced out and not dealing with his kids. And people are getting more and more annoyed as these kids are like swinging around the metal pole, stepping up on the bench, doing all kinds of things they shouldn't be doing.
And the blood is boiling for this one, passenger on the train and he's seizing negative thoughts, angry thoughts towards this dad. What's wrong with this guy? What nerve. What kind of guy on the morning commute has these three kids, what are they even doing here? And at least control your kids. What's going on.
These thoughts are boiling up. All of a sudden, the kid stands on the bench of the seat of the train to put his fingers out, that little crack of the window. And as he's standing up, he pinches the guy's thigh, like catches the guys thigh against the bench, and this guy loses it. He gets up there and he gets in the face of this father and he says, What the heck is wrong with you?
Who do you think you are getting on the train? Can't you just control your kids. That moment dad breaks down, breaks down and he says, you're right. I don't know how to control my kids. We just left the hospital. And I don't know if the round is going to be coming out of the hospital and I don't know how to control my kids at that moment.
Nobody needed to be taught or educated. How to be empathic to this dad and have a little more patience for these rambunctious kids and have a little bit more empathy and lean in a little bit more, give a little bit more space, give a little bit more time, give a little bit more to someone else and not be so closed and rigid.
So I just think from what you were sharing so many, just the stories are so informative. Sometimes. Maybe we need your textbook and you're going to finish it. And we're going to learn from it. We're going to teach from it, but more than the textbook are these stories where you talk about you're in the hospital and like, people need to know, you might look unconscious, but you can hear what's being said, you know, or the comments or things that you might joke about.
And someone who's listening knows what I'm talking about. I made this mistake. It's okay for people to make their own jokes about themselves, to kind of use humor as a way to cope and as a way to adapt, it doesn't mean it's okay for everyone else to make the same joke. And that's very subtle. Um, I just wanted to riff on that, but I do want, if you don't mind and you know why I know someone else who has a certain condition called Parkinson's, who's struggling with his voice.
He's also one of the great, uh, clinicians and professors out there happens to be my dad, Dr. Phil Schneider, you can see more on our blog about his journey with Parkinson's. I know that you had a chance to connect with him about, you know, finding ways to keep yourself going and keep your voice going. Can you share anything from those special meetings?
Steff Lebsack: Absolutely. Yeah. So I've had the chance to meet with him, um, once a week and there's been times, Oh my gosh. He's just been amazing as, um, Oh gosh, your debt. I don't even have an I'm going to try not to cry. He's just an amazing person. Um, he. I mean there's times when I've been scared and I'm waiting on results and I can send him an email and he's like, call me, or he'll call me right away.
And he's busy. Like he's got a life, he's got his own diagnosis he's taking care of. And he takes the time to call me and he just, Oh my gosh. And the way he's talked to my husband and the way that he's supported us is just. Amazing. Um, we have been working on voice a little bit, I will say. Um, I haven't made the last couple of appointments because I've been a little busy, um, like on a ventilator.
Um, but he, um, he is just phenomenal. Anything that comes out of that man's mouth needs to be written down, um, his thought process, his. Just wisdom and the way that he fights, I mean, When I saw that man boxing, I'm like, what do I need to be doing to do that? Like, I'm on a Walker at 37 and he looks better than I do with Parkinson's.
Like,
Uri Schneider: I don't, I don't recommend you jump right in the ring with him. No,
Steff Lebsack: I don't either. Cause he'd kick my tail, but I mean, just his Mo like he, not that I was losing my inspiration cause I know a lot of people fall on my journey and I'm just. We're still fighting. I mean, I have kids I have, but this last, I will say this last time got me pretty down.
Um, it was, it was hard. It was really hard, um, really, really hard and seeing videos like that, of him and people like him and being able to reach out to people like him really help. And he's just, yeah, I don't almost don't even have the words. He's amazing. He just, he's a really
Uri Schneider: phenomenal person. You're a perfect pair because, uh, again, and as we said in the transcending studying cohort, it's more, a bit more than the content.
It's about the people, you know, we can transmit information, but that doesn't create transformation. And the way that you bring your spirit and your passion to life as a mom, as a wife, to your work to your students and share with us, you are on the one hand. Going through quite a boxing match with, uh, your respiratory condition.
And at the same time, you know, You are not throwing in the towel and all that of us are following you and inspired by you and emboldened by you. And you deserve those people that you can lean on. And certainly, you know, there's so many of us you can lean on and I'm glad that you connected with my dad and that he could be that person, but the therapeutic encounter relationship, being a guide, being a, being a friend to another person, who's going through a tough time.
You don't need to fix them. And you don't always need to teach them, but just being encouraging and showing them the light and hanging in there and holding them in the tough times and through the tears is a big thing. And the other thing you mentioned is the family piece and how you bring that to the work.
We need to think about the family members when we're working with kids. When you think about the siblings and the parents, you're just such a living embodiment of everything. Good about the work that we do. And like, you don't even need to say anything. You just are. And I think all of us, if we could just realize how good we are, it's less about doing it's more about just being, but you do do a lot and you do share a lot.
So when you signed up for the, for the cohort, this eight week training that we did a group of therapists, first of all, I was nervous as heck because, you know, you're, you're, you're pretty bright and pretty sharp. So I was a little nervous if I was going to be up to snuff. And at the same time, I was like, You're barely managing to stay out of the ICU.
How are you going to show up every Sunday morning for eight weeks at 10:00 AM now, although you didn't and you beat yourself up for it, and you keep apologizing as if anyone had a better excuse than you, what compelled you to do that? Like, what was the original impetus that made you jump in and then like, what did it turn out to be that that made it worthwhile?
Steff Lebsack: So I just keep doing more. Um, I always sign up for more, a random example. You know, I was on the planning committee for the joint world Congress for quite some time. I finally had to let that go just health reasons, lots of reasons. You know, mainly because of health reasons. Um, and I loved every minute of it, but I.
Just always have been a person that stayed busy and kept my mind going. And so I always want to learn more and challenge myself. And when I heard that you were doing a course, I just had to get in on it. Um, I think that the work that you're doing is brilliant. I think that the work that you and your father have done is amazing.
I think you guys are. World changers and I wanted, I wanted in, um, I'm also trying to start a PhD and write a textbook. And that's what people are sick should do is sign up for more. I'm also planning my 20 year high school reunion. Don't ask why. Um, so I, I just keep doing more. And so, um, and my husband's like, what are you doing?
What are we setting up for? What? Like, he just gets dragged along. So
Uri Schneider: I want to know what Kevin signing up for it. You got to get behind him. Kevin, you got to sign up for some. Do some coaching or something.
Steff Lebsack: Yeah. He's applying for coaching trucks. He's been caregiving for me the past year, and he's really amazing.
He literally has to take care of him.
Uri Schneider: Caring for you is definitely enjoyable rollercoaster ride and an act of devotion and love. And I'm sure you make it entertaining and sweet at some points and you make it tough at others. He deserves some other projects, not just the fish, food, ice cream, so straight up made up.
But, um, you guys are awesome and you're an amazing team and you couldn't do without each other. Was it worth it? The group, was it the cohort worth it?
Steff Lebsack: The cohort was really worth it. And, and when I think about. What made it different? Um, it reminds me of, and this is something I reflected in my, in my review.
And your reveal, um, is it reminds me of the first adult I ever treated his stutters, um, in my, my fluency disorders course, um, uh, tip my hat to EMU where I went to grad school. It was really an amazing experience. Might. Professor, she's still there. She's the chair of the department and she's really, really knowledgeable about stuttering and, and I was really, really fortunate.
Um, For that experience. Um, but, um, but I never got to treat anybody who stutters until post-grad school. And so the first adult I ever treated, um, I was working outpatient and I just got my CS, like. Two weeks before this happened, I was like 24 super young, like little Susie speech path with my stuff, with the cute pink folder and ready to do this thing in my own office, feeling super empowered in myself, which is not what you're supposed to do.
And so. In walks this gentleman in his fifties and he, um, he had done everything. Like he had moved his family across the country for intensive programs. He had done dif couple of different kinds. He had done so many different kinds of treatments and he comes in for this evaluation. Um, not only did he get added to my schedule about.
Um, four hours before he showed up. But, um, he spends the first 30 minutes of our one hour block time talking about treatments he's already done and he ends his time talking with what's going to make you different. And I'm like, what's going to make me different. And my answer to him, I'll never forget what is.
What's going to make me different is that I'm going to make this whatever you need it to be. I'm young. I knew that I'm going to work really hard for this to be whatever you need it to be. And I had him for over a year on my caseload and he taught me about stuttering. He really, really did. And, um, since then I can't stop.
And, um, what made this different is it makes me think of him because, um, when you. When you focus on human empathy, um, that's, that's priceless. And that's what that man taught me. And that's what your course teaches people. It teaches you to focus on the individual and that's so, so powerful and a lot of your.
A lot of your ideas in the, in the course are it reminds me of my idea ideas in the text I'm writing, like, just focus on the person, focus on the experience, focus on what they want to focus on them, focus on empowering them. And that is just really, I feel like where we need to be going with stuttering treatment.
It's not about us, you know, it's not about, I mean, If you do this, this is fine, but I haven't kept my degrees on the wall in years. Like, you know, I have it just because it's, I don't want somebody to feel less than when they walk into my office. I want them to feel equal and they're human beings. And when I started treating them like that, it revitalized.
The way I do therapy, even with people with aphasia and dysarthria and dysphasia and all these other things we treat, um, it's just a human being sitting in front of you and we're all people and it just changed the way I practice. And I feel like that's what this cohort did. We became a family and the cohort, even though I missed a couple sessions,
Uri Schneider: um, sessions that you missed, I was going to tell you, I was so concerned, uh, that I didn't have the right material.
So I actually messaged Kevin. To slip me the notes of your manuscript for your textbook. And that's what I use to teach the times you weren't there. And it was fabulous. It was fabulous. Everybody in the cohort can chime in. Is this what you do? Yeah. Well, the spectrograph, uh, Dale Williams likes your artwork.
Instead of having your degrees up on the wall, you got a spectrograph looks like sound waves, and then you got to be part in the middle.
Steff Lebsack: My friend did Ashley fleet, or she has an art gallery in downtown Denver. Shout out to my friends that I went to school with Ashley. I can PMU her info. If you want a custom work.
I finally put something up. Yeah,
Uri Schneider: because this is not custom. This was, um, this was, um, wholesale that John Gomez, our good buddy John Gomez. And apparently you guys go back, but. He has a non-professional question. You can give us the backstory on you and John and with caution and trepidation. I'm going to ask you his question.
He's curious if you could share, apparently you've got some nicknames for some of the people on this, uh, in this circle. You, you don't have to go there, but, um, you can opt out if you want. Yeah.
Steff Lebsack: I called John vampire. And I call Nan Dr. Nan, you know, our esteemed research.
Uri Schneider: Dr. Nan Ratner. Yeah. She's she's uh,
Steff Lebsack: yeah.
Second mom. I call her goddess and I call Dr. Yares sock puppet. And I may have told four sections of Baylor students last week to email him and call him sock puppet. So how bad do you think I have it coming? Next time? I see Dr. Yara says he got 37 emails calling him sock puppet. Cause I may have told them they get extra credit if they do it.
And they did it. Yeah. It was really awesome. So hopefully he'll think of something better than ink pen or shaving cream or, you know, pay your pants with the hot and cold water or, I mean, yeah, I did that.
Uri Schneider: Yeah. I won't even ask if you have any others.
Steff Lebsack: I do well, and he calls me Miranda. There's a reason my legal name was Miranda.
And then my parents changed it. Yeah, I was Brandon. I was Miranda Nicole, and then they decided, I looked like my dad who Steven.
Uri Schneider: So. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. You have, yeah, go ahead. If you want to tell us more about, uh, nicknames.
Steff Lebsack: No, I'm just, I'm just the nut in the family. So just
Uri Schneider: sweat. Yeah. So what about, uh, one second, you sent me some notes here, so I'm just checking.
One second. I did. I
Steff Lebsack: sent you
notes.
Uri Schneider: I'm reviewing the notes that you sent me, for sure. For sure. I think let's see. Yeah. So you've, you've dealt with a couple of different challenges related to what you've been going through health wise. Um, you dealt with some challenges with your vision, obviously challenges with your breathing, obviously challenges with the oxygen and your, and your brain.
Um, And here you are. That's been hard. I can,
Steff Lebsack: I can see you. So I wouldn't have been able to.
Uri Schneider: So how did that, how did you go through that? Because I'm sure for a lot of people, there's this feeling like it's only going to go one direction, like you're going to, it's going to keep getting worse. And also with people, with kids, with developmental stuff and stuttering, there's often this feeling of the snowball effect and like, Every time it happens.
It's probably going to accumulate and get stronger and get more of a fixed kind of a presence. And here you are, and you've gone in and out of some of these different things. Uh, I was just wondering like, how do you, how do you roll through that maybe as a family or as a, as a woman, you know, going through when you have these things that are frightening, uh, that are a loss that are a challenge, a loss of ability.
And on the other hand, getting through those moments, but also keeping your head up high because all of us look up to you as a, uh, Pretty remarkable example of how to keep going. So if you could share any of the secrets and I know you wanted to do this today because you wanted to share, so what are some of the things you tell yourself or some of the things that you guys do as a team, or I don't know anything you could share with us so that when we face the things that we're facing or that we will face all of us, we can learn and be better off for it from, from some of your experiences.
Steff Lebsack: So I tell people all the time that, um, I truly, truly believe there's no difference between me and anybody else. You know? Um, mine just happens to be called lung disease. That's what I tell people. Everybody has something. And when you think of physical pain and mental health pain, to me, they can both hurt just as bad, you know?
Um, When I parent my kids and they're going through something and we go through pain that hurts just as bad as when I stopped breathing. Does that make sense? And so, um, physical pain that sucks. I mean, I'm just going to say it like it's good, harder. I will say it like I used to be able to get up and go to work.
The next day I used to be able to work on a pain level of a 10. I used to be able to, I worked probably. A year and a half longer than I needed to in the hospital. I used to be able to treat a patient, go throw up cause it hurt and go right back to it. And, and I did that for a long time and nobody noticed it.
And when people started to notice, that's when I had to stop working because I couldn't keep up anymore. You know, I, I do a session with a three-year-old and I couldn't breathe. And my ER visits turned to admins and, and I had to stop. And that was really, really hard because I thrive from people and I haven't done a in person session and over a year, But I do telepractice now and I'm employed with like three universities, but anyways, um, and so, but, but thinking about pain, I, to me, there's not, there's not separation there.
You know, we all have something. And so yeah, I go through a lot, but I have a lot of friends. Tell me, Hey Steph, can I vent? I'm sorry, what you're going through is so much, and this is so minimal and I'm like, don't. Don't minimize what you're going through, just because of what I'm going through. Like it's not, to me, there's no difference.
Um, it's just, it looks different and it's called something different, but, you know, yeah. I stopped breathing last week, but like in that hurt, like H U double hockey sticks, but you know, it's, it's different, you know, it's just different. But, um,
Uri Schneider: what was that expression? Cause I I'm learning like new expressions that are not the ones that from the Bronx.
Double hockey sticks. That's awesome.
Steff Lebsack: Well, I'm a professor and I'm working on it instead of 80 double hockey sticks. Or you can say what the French toast I'm working on it.
Uri Schneider: All
Steff Lebsack: right. I'm working on it. I am trying, when your five-year-old says a choice word, you need to work on it.
Uri Schneider: Yeah. It reminds me of funny story.
Funny story of kids. Uh, it's relevant for the work we do. It's also relevant for parenting and it's also relevant just because it's relevant kid goes to school. The parents just send them to school after kind of raising him and educating him at home and letting him play with the trains and doing this and that Santa him a school.
I know. Do you know. He lets one of these choice words fall right out of his mouth. The parents are like, that's it. You see? I told you we shouldn't send him to that school. He's been exposed. He's going to learn all kinds. Kinds of things is just the beginning, just wait. And they go to the school and they let the teacher have it.
They said, what kind of language is getting used over here? Somebody here, these kids are some teacher. Definitely let something go because this kid never would have gotten that our house never, ever in the first week, he goes to school, comes home and says that drops that bomb. And they said, no, no, no, please.
Mrs. Schwartz, like we would never do that. Or our school, we have a very clear policy that we got to use very prim and proper, you know, Lang go home. They're like, Oh, Dave, we got to figure out who it was. And it was an assistant or maybe it was a substitute. Meanwhile, the kids on the weekends Saturday morning, the kid is playing with his trains, trying to figure out this complicated train set and grandpa's helping them.
And all of a sudden grandpa gets frustrated, frustrated, and just drops one. That's where the kid got it from grandpa on Saturday morning when grandpa got frustrated, that's where the kid picked it up. And we're so quick to blame the teacher or the school or the neighbors. And I think, um, when it comes to stuttering, I would just say, you know, like things like, you know, important to involve all the stakeholders and all the persons in a person's life, because.
You never know how grandpa responds. That grammar is not it's. Everybody deserves a chance to kind of unpack what this is and how to, how to relate to it. But yeah, when our five-year-olds are picking up our stuff, it really is a wake up call. You gotta, you gotta show them. Don't tell them. It was
Steff Lebsack: totally my fault too.
We have a swear jar now and I'm like, every time I say it, I put in a quarter and every time you say it and I have put in $2 and 50 cents and my son has put in nothing, it's bad
Uri Schneider: to collect the jar,
Steff Lebsack: I'm going to give it to grandma. So it gets it. So I just need to, it doesn't
Uri Schneider: go into that. It doesn't go into the ice cream fund.
No, that's fine. It wouldn't serve the purpose. Okay. So you're into swearing jars. I wouldn't have thought. Swearing?
Steff Lebsack: No recently. Yes. But, but no, but anyways, no, but going back to the what, um,
Uri Schneider: Oh man, we've been around the world and best
Steff Lebsack: how we've handled challenges or
Uri Schneider: Kevin, if you're there, we all want to see you.
So feel free to just pop, right? Yeah. I want to see you. He's watching me. I don't know why,
Steff Lebsack: how do you, how do you do this? They want to know how do you tolerate me? No,
Uri Schneider: no.
Hey, all right. Drop your likes and your comments. Take this jacket off. Is that the problem? Do you
Steff Lebsack: want to take the jacket? Can you hear me? Hold on. Let me turn off the.
Uri Schneider: Okay. One, two, three. Can you hear me? Yeah, we got like people around the world. They've decided, I think you've heard that March 9th is now officially the international celebration of Kevin lip sack day.
That's right. That's right. I do think that the swear jar should go to something that helps Kevin with his gear, for his, with the kids on his team, you know? Every kid is going to love the coach that gets them gear. So forget about your ice cream fund stuff. You got to take care of that some other way.
Yeah, there we go. But how do you guys, how do you, well, what's the magic of, of love and marriage through, through, through very challenging or deals. And, and in what ways do you kind of pick yourself up and pick each other up? I think it's, it's. Totally outstanding. And it's certainly not all peaches and cream, but you know, the two of you sitting there and laughing next to each other is just such a beautiful image.
And one that is so deep. So yeah, what's, what's something that, that keeps you going or you think Steph has, that keeps her going. It's just remarkable something we could learn from. Um, you know, um, I think that it really starts from our face. It was really where it starts and, and that helps keep us grounded.
Uh, and you know, when, um, when everything is going wrong in the world, you know, and those of us that have that face to fall back on, we kind of have, it's like, it's like that compass that points us back to North. And so. Regardless of how ridiculous. Uh, we start to think about things and we go, Oh, well, I'm right.
Or you're, you're wrong. And this and that, we come back to, Oh, this is true North over here. This is what we believe to be true North. And, um, we have to have a grace and forgiveness for each other. And, and we realize that, uh, you know, that the, this world is much bigger than ourselves and yeah. I'll preach on brother.
Amen. Can I get an amen? Amen. So that's, I mean, that's what really grounds us and brings it brings us back to center after, um, the different things and craziness that happened in this life. Listen, if you're starting a congregation, I'm signing up. All right. What's the t-shirt kids. I got no noises. I know this is really funny, funnier than my jacket.
I like it. I told you about the
Steff Lebsack: jacket, huh? Yeah. That's the jacket. And he's got glasses too. No. Perfect people allowed. Yeah. He's got
Uri Schneider: glasses. Oh yeah. Nice. What are perfect people? Yeah,
Steff Lebsack: it's been hard. Kevin's really had to roll up a lot and he's gone through a lot. Um, cause like I can't drive anymore cause I can't see, um, well enough to drive legally. And so he has to drive all the time. He has to shower me now. I mean, like he really has to
Uri Schneider: let's keep it. Uh,
Steff Lebsack: no, I mean, just care. Like he has to do activities of daily living.
And you know, when you think about therapeutically, he has to do everything and we have two kids to boot. So like he's got the kids saying dad without,
Uri Schneider: without, without TMI. Like, what's one thing that you actually love that you have an excuse to have him do. I don't know, making the peanut butter sandwiches for the kids were doing the laundry or sorting the socks.
Like what's one thing you're happy. You're not doing stuff that you're happy to lean on. Kids
Steff Lebsack: probably taking the kit. Well, probably cooking,
Uri Schneider: cooking. I like to cook. All right. Now I'm going to play Dr. Phil since my dad's the original doctor, Phil, Dr. Phil little matters. All right. All right, Steph, Steph, hang on there.
All right now. Well, now. Well, it's one thing as soon, as soon as Steph feel well enough, you want her to pick up again? What's the one thing you just want to get her well enough that she could take off your plate. Should I put up a sign? You want to, to be quiet? Let him go. Oh, okay. You got the mic cab. What you want, what would you wish?
What would you wish for her to be well to take on? Um, Dishes dishes, laundry, throw it in the thing and push the button. I'll let you do the laundry we got about it longer. I forget about it. See stuff you think as laundry is dishes. So get your listen before you get to the textbook. Start working out on the dishes routine.
Okay. It's a little wax on wax off. He gets a little sponge going on there. Yeah. See, they make, they make the Roomba, the Roomba, you know, the automatic vacuum thing that goes around the house. They're designing one that you put on the counter in the kitchen and it just kind of does the counters and then it just plops right into your sink.
And it kind of does a little Roomba. Yeah, absolutely. I want a serious note. You guys moved from Texas to Colorado, right? Right. What's the, what's the best thing about Colorado life and one thing that you miss in Texas probably.
Steff Lebsack: The best
Uri Schneider: thing in Colorado,
Steff Lebsack: probably the scenery running up here. He runs crazy. Fantastic. He runs in like negative 10 degree weather.
Uri Schneider: I know the altitude you run in. Cause I was bagging some containers back in 2017. Absolutely bro, absolutely Garmin. I run in this jacket. People seem to run away from me. I don't know. It clears things out.
I get lots of space. You know, I think they need to change the name of this thing though. It works, but it says Ironman. And then it tells me this is too cold. You should consult your doctor and think about not working out today. Yeah. But a SAC doesn't listen to that. Not as staff, no way. You got to get one of these garments.
I never got a warning like that. It just tells me it's time to get moving, get your, get your tail out of bed and get rocking. How you like that stuff. Got my tail out of bed. I picked that up from you. See, what's one thing you, uh, you miss from Texas or that you've found to be nice. And, uh, okay. The big thing that I miss is just the, uh, the friendliness, you know, um, You could you in Texas, you can see complete strangers everywhere you go.
And everybody's like, Hey, how you doing? You may never see them again. You know? And that's okay. But, uh, there's a lot of, uh, that sort of thing, uh, in Texas and here, people are more to themselves. Like, I don't know you, so why would I wave and say, hello? Good thing. You don't live in New York city under the New York city.
I'll tell you a true story and I'll leave you with a message of faith for all of us that we can take. The beauty of Steph and Kevin have bring it to the world and bring more light and hopefully something Kevin just said, I have a plan for the two of you. You're on a mission missionary. All right. So the thing that my father would do for many years, many, many years, he would go down to central park before sunrise.
It would be about 20 minute drive without traffic. And he went with one buddy of his and they would go around the loop. So I called the loop in central park. It's a 10 K loop and he goes, he'd go rollerblading. And, um, I think my dad's okay saying it, but he didn't exactly have the coolest gear. Let's just put it that way.
He wasn't exactly decked out in the finest and people who go on the loop, they are decked out. Okay. It's like a whole subculture. And the other part of the subculture is everybody goes in a certain direction. Okay. And it's like, head down. This is no talking sign like Kev, you know, if you're a serious runner, like.
Do not disturb. Basically you don't even need to have a shirt that says, do not disturb. It's understood. Well, my dad and his friend would deliberately go in the opposite direction of the running and cycling traffic. And instead of letting themselves go head down, all these people would be like early morning.
You know, haven't had their second cup of coffee yet. They game play game and it wasn't Texas. But if it was, if it was Texas, be like, Hey, y'all. But they would say like, good morning, they would say good morning and greet every person. And if the person did not respond, like didn't even lift the head.
There's no points. Okay. If the person kind of like, like raise their head or like turned around, that's a one pointer. If they actually responded, that's a two pointer. And what ended up happening was in his less than fancy schmancy gear, he and his rollerblading buddy got invited. No joke. There was this very, very classy crew of people that actually went horseback riding at that hour.
And they were having a party for all the riding friends by the stables. And they invited my dad and his friend and my dad and his friend said, well, we don't have the gear that you guys have the fancy pants and fancy boots. And this isn't the kind of thing that people were riding out in Texas out in the rodeo.
But this is like, Class, whatever Manhattan, horseback riding, it's a specific type English style, exact English. There you go. English saddle, not, not bare back. Uh, no less. So going on. So, um, somebody, so they said, no, no, no, we don't want you to come in your riding gear. We want you to come in your roller bleeding gear, you know, like your, your Reebok windbreaker and your elbow pads and wrist pads.
And so they did and had a great time. But the point is you gotta bring Texas to Colorado. The lone star state is now sending people out. To bring that friendliness and that warmth and that person. And now if you go Kev and you go give somebody like, Hey y'all and they don't say anything, that's no points.
If, if they, if they raise an eyebrow, you get one point and if they turn back and they say Shalom, that's a five pointer right there. Cause that's one of my, there you go. Well with that, any final thoughts you guys want to share? Because so many people are so happy just to see the two of you smiling and kicking it.
And truly you're an inspiration to me. And I get so much just to, to follow you guys and to know you're, you're going through this, but you're going through it together and you're going through it strong and with all the ups and downs, which are ups and downs and hard, uh, you guys are just absolutely remarkable and human and real and honest.
And I thank you for just doing what you do. And you know, you should know that you don't have the weight of the world on you, but you have a world of people behind you. And you can turn to all of us. There's people dropping messages. You can call for a hug, anytime, either one of you. And at the same time, we are inspired.
We inspired by you. So the give and take continues to flow. Uh, but yeah. What would your final thoughts or parting thoughts be for today?
Steff Lebsack: I don't know, just keep, keep on, keeping on, you know, we all go through stuff and you just gotta keep pushing forward. Like I messaged my doctor when I was on the vent and I was really mad about something, I guess I wasn't in the right mind.
And I told him later on, I said, if I ever tell you I'm done and I quit, I want you to talk me out of it. Um, and I was serious when I said that, you know, if I ever messaged you, I'm not myself. I want you to talk me out of it. Um, you get, you gotta keep going. We have families, we have life and life happens and life happens big, but like for us, we have our faith and we have that and, and we have a reason.
And so just keep pushing.
Uri Schneider: Wow. Yeah. What'd you got. You know, I, I think that you got to have a heavy dose of love grace and forgiveness for each other. You're going to screw up. You're going to get mad about the situation. You're going to get mad at each other wrongfully. Um, and sometimes even rightfully and you gotta keep moving on, right?
Yeah. Sometimes. Yeah. Sometimes you are right. Sometimes it's getting so sweet and cozy over there. I feel like we better end this soon. So I'll just say this. Um, you guys are awesome. I had a thought that just escaped me. Give me just one moment. Yeah, I think just keeping our best self out front. So like, there are moments that you're feeling like nothing's right in your life and just recognize that's not the time to make any big decisions because you're not going to see anything good.
You're not going to be very resourceful in your best moments in your clearest States and your strongest state of mind in moments of clarity, whether it's your faith, whether it's your commitment to whatever, uh, those are the voices you should write down, record little videos for yourself. Like. Hey, Ari.
This is early in a strong state talking to Erie that you're probably not seeing anything good. Well, let me remind you all the goodness in gratitude that you're recognizing right now, that's real. And let me remind you what you're really here to do. Okay. And the going is going to get rough, but just remember, this is what brings you the most meaning and the most value and the most purpose, even if it ain't pretty.
And even if any public, this is where you gotta be. So talking to yourself from a strong state and not listening too much when you're in a. For cactus state, that means not ideal state. And I just remembered and lost again. I think I'm like resonating with the, with the vibe stuff that things are coming and going in my head.
My goodness. Hold on a second. Okay. I had a good thought. I got it. I got it. Here we go. Here we go. COVID story. You ready? It's my COVID story. And that's it. The stories we will tell all of us are going through tough times that you guys have your own NSF, as you said, as much as we can look and say, wow, you got it rough.
Everybody's got their Mount Everest. Right? One of the things that I've leaned into these months with my family is to say, Hey, let's think about how we're going to live through this. And the stories we'll tell about it a year from now, five years now, generation from now of how we stood up to that ordeal, to that challenge.
And if you live with that kind of message, for me, that works for different people, you got to find what works for you, but I think faith, family, community, uh, and, and feeling about, Hey, We got this and it's not about the destination. It's about the journey and how we get there together and how we climb together.
So thank you for taking the time you guys, I'm sure you don't have anything else better to do than sit with us for over an hour, but thank you for sharing so openly and sweetly. If you've appreciated this conversation, drop your comments, your likes, your shares. You can see more on, on the podcast, transcending stuttering with reach Snyder, subscribe.
It helps us spread the goodness there. Steph is one of many, perhaps. The most amazing of our guests thus far, but we have several other wonderful, wonderful people. And if you're interested in any of the other things that we're doing, transcending stuttering, the cohort for SLPs or transcending stuttering experiences for teens and adults go to Schneider speech.com/tsa, and you can sign up for the free emails and you get all the information you need and you can also get some free.
Goodness. Thank you everybody. Have an awesome, awesome Tuesday.