A man with a severe stutter shared the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru interaction he called ‘perfect.’

In the United States, about three million Americans live with a stutter. That’s only about 1% of the population, but the odds are good that most of us will interact with someone with some kind of speech difficulty at some point, if not on a daily basis throughout our lives. But it’s not called a speech difficulty because it’s easy. It’s not easy for the speaker to overcome their stutter and summon the courage to fight their way through it and talk to strangers. And it’s not always easy on the listener, either. Even when they’re trying to be empathetic and patient, there are a lot of simple mistakes listeners make that make people with a stutter more anxious and self-conscious. Man with a stutter visits Chick-Fil-A and employee’s reaction is masterful Travis Althouse is an online creator, influencer, children’s author, and speech-language pathologist. He’s also a fierce advocate for people who stutter, and that’s because he lives with the condition himself. Althouse has nearly 400,000 followers combined between Instagram and TikTok where he regularly shares the realities of his life as someone who lives with a stutter disorder. In one recent Instagram Reel, he shares a heartwarming interaction he had while grabbing some fast food from his local Chick-Fil-A. Althouse is seen going through the drive-thru in the video, with the caption reading (of the female employee): “She handled my stutter perfectly.” Four things that put people who stutter at ease Althouse, in the clip of the wholesome interaction, points out four specific things that this anonymous employee did to make him more comfortable in their conversation. Number one, she didn’t rush him. Right off the bat, Althouse has a bit of trouble responding when she asks for his order. After a few seconds, she simply calmly says, “Take your time.” Number two, she didn’t guess his words. Filling in the blanks and silences, or guessing at what the person who is stuttering is trying to say, seems like a kind and helpful thing to do. However, Althouse and other experts agree that staying patient and letting the person finish is actually the better route. Guessing can unintentionally speed them up and make them feel more anxious or rushed, which is counterproductive. It also takes away the agency of the speaker. “It means the world when people give me space to express myself,” he writes. Three, she maintained eye contact. Though we don’t see the employee’s face in the clip, Althouse specifically calls out the eye contact in his post. As he’s going through his order, she gives him her full attention and doesn’t look around—another signal that can make someone with a stutter speed up or feel anxious. Fourth, she treated him like any other customer. Outside of her patience, attention, and eye contact, the employee doesn’t call attention to his speech. Just like guessing their words, giving unsolicited advice isn’t as helpful as it seems. Phrases like “slow down,” or “take a breath,” can come across as demeaning—not to mention unnecessary. In the end, at his own pace, he finished his order: A chicken sandwich and a medium waffle fry, with honey barbecue sauce on the side. Not only was the moment wholesome and wonderful, Althouse’s breakdown of the interaction was extremely illuminating for many who watched: “Wait, this was such a humbling lesson to me as a speaker to not fill in people’s words and thoughts and let them process. Often times I think it’s helpful but I can see how it isn’t always the best way.” “This was an amazing lesson in how to be present and patient” “As a doctor, I learned so much from this video. Especially the point of not trying to guess someone’s words and giving them the space and independence to express their own thoughts. Thank you so much for this insight and sharing” Others simply appreciated the warm moment between two humans: “She even kinda slowed down her words to let you know ‘we aren’t in any rush’ and that’s super polite and I appreciate when people do that to me” “What a truly beautiful moment … made me cry. Thank you for sharing” Althouse adds in his post that the simple gesture meant a lot to him, especially because he knows employees at Chick-Fil-A and other fast food restaurants are often timed and judged based on their speed of service. He made sure to let the woman know how much he appreciated her: “And thank you, too, for your patience, by the way.” “Not a problem at all,” she responded, like it took no effort at all to treat him with decency and kindness. Exactly the way it should be.