Matthew Phillips

I am currently a 1st year master’s student in speech-language pathology at the University of Connecticut. I am also a person who stutters! In May 2022, I graduated from UConn with a double major in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences & Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science.

Ultimately, I aspire to obtain a PhD specializing in stuttering so I can conduct clinically impactful research to improve treatment and quality of life outcomes for people who stutter.

As a future clinician, I will take a client-centered approach to intervention focusing on meaningful, functional goals yielding positive changes in quality of life. This approach is informed by my own experiences with speech therapy and knowing that what works for one client may not be beneficial to another, and that treatment goals must generalize to the real world.

At UConn, I have worked as a research assistant under Dr. Emily Myers in the Language and Brain Lab since Fall 2019. My research in this lab centers around categorical perception in typical and atypical populations, speech processing, and non-native speech sound learning. You can learn more about my involvement in research by visiting my Research Overview page.

I am also very active in the stuttering community and served as the Teen Program Co-Coordinator for the National Stuttering Association (NSA) from 2019-August 2022, where I received the 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award. In this capacity, I oversaw nationwide teen outreach, advocacy, engagement, and social media initiatives, planned the teen programming for the 4-day Annual NSA Conference attended by approximately 1,000 people, and planned smaller in-person and online events throughout the year. You can learn more about my involvement in the stuttering community by visiting my Stuttering Engagement page.

I can be reached by email at matthew.phillips@uconn.edu