1. www.stutteringhelp.org • 1-800-992-9392 • www.tartamudez.org
T HE S TUTTERING F OUNDATION
A Nonprofit Organization FA L L 2 0 0 6 Since 19 47. .. Helping Those Who Stutter
Is language a risk Transatlantic alliance will help
factor in stuttering? researchers, clinicians and children
By Ehud Yairi, Ph.D.,
T he Stuttering Foundation and world. However, this will be the
University of Illinois the Michael Palin Centre for first direct involvement of the Stut-
A person’s stuttering is not random. Stammering Children have tering Foundation in a treatment
Linguistic factors have been consid- joined forces in a groundbreaking al- program.
ered relevant to stuttering especially liance to help children who stutter “We are very excited at the
since early research (Brown, 1937, through research, treatment prospect of working togeth-
1945) demonstrated their strong influ- and training programs. er with SFA to promote
ence on the occurrence of stuttering The Michael Palin and provide a first
events, or “moments of stuttering,” in Centre, based in Lon- class service for
specific locations of the speech stream don, England, is c h i l dr e n an d
(e.g., the beginning widely considered y o u ng a du l t s
of sentences and one of the premier who stammer,”
phrases) and in treatment cen- said Frances
words of certain ters in Cook,
grammatical classes t h e M.Sc.,
(e.g., verbs and ad- world manag-
jectives). The link for child- er of the
between stuttering hood stuttering; Michael Palin
and language is es- and it is active in Centre. “This
pecially intuitive in research and the partnership be-
young children. Ehud Yairi, Ph.D. training of speech-lan- tween our two orga-
Several scholars guage therapists. While nizations will combine
have noted that stuttering onset, typical- the Centre is based in London, our strengths and serve to
ly between ages 2 and 4, coincides it provides treatment for children as benefit our clients and therapists on
with the critical period of accelerated well as training for therapists from all both sides of the Atlantic.”
expansion in children’s expressive and over the United Kingdom. “The alliance of the two organi-
receptive language (Levina, 1963; Yairi, The Memphis-based Stuttering zations makes perfect sense,” said
1983, Ratner, 1997). Thirty years ago, Foundation is one of the leading Jane Fraser, president of the Stut-
Cheverkeva (1977) proposed that stut- U.S.-based nonprofit organizations tering Foundation. “The Palin Cen-
tering is basically a disorder of lan- dedicated to the prevention and tre’s top-notch treatment facility
guage development, an idea recently treatment of stuttering. Its publica- means hope for thousands of chil-
echoed by Bloodstein (2002). tions reach people in more than dren who stutter and for some time
The possible stuttering-language link 100 countries each year, and it is now has provided an essential
has become a focus of scientific inter- also active in training speech lan- training ground for researchers and
est, reflected in several stuttering mod- guage pathologists by sponsoring clinicians.”
els with psycholinguistic viewpoints. training courses for those who spe- The Michael Palin Centre for
Among these are the Demands-Capac- cialize in stuttering.
ity Model (Starkweather, 1987), the Stammering Children was official-
More than 800 therapists have ly opened in 1993. British comedi-
Covert-Repair Hypothesis (Postma & participated in SFA workshops dur-
Kolk, 1993), the Trade-Off Hypothesis an Michael Palin agreed to the cen-
ing the past 20 years, including ter being named after him following
Continued on page 8 145 from 32 countries around the Continued on page 3
Inside... Geneticist Dennis Drayna joins SFA board
SFA at 5th World Congress . . . . 2 Dennis Drayna,Ph.D., nized for his work in ge-
Speech/language processes . . . . 2 has joined the SFA Board netics, he currently serves
Journalists honored . . . . . . . . . . 3 of Directors. as Section Chief in the Na-
Help for back-to-school season . 4 Dr. Drayna received his tional Institute on Deafness
Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 9 B.A. from the University of and Other Communication
Kids use art to express feelings . 6 Wisconsin in 1976, and his Disorders, NIH, where he
Teen speaks out . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ph.D. from Harvard Univer- pursues studies on the genet-
News from Russia . . . . . . . . . . . 9 sity in 1981. ics of human communication
Internationally recog- disorders. ❑ Drayna

2. 2 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
New windows SFA at 5th World Congress
on the onset Workshop specialists
of stuttering meet World Congress of the In-
again in Dublin
he 5th
Dublin conference brings Tternational Fluency Association
was held at Trinity College in Dublin,
researchers together Ireland, July 25-28, 2006. It brought to-
By Anne Smith, Ph.D., gether more than 300 people, many of
Purdue University them experts in the field of stuttering.
In July of this year, I was honored Participants came from 34 countries
to be a keynote speaker at the meet- around the world and more than 15 per- JoAnne Wilding, Canada; Peter Tonev, Bul-
ing of International Fluency Associ- cent of all participants had attended garia; Beatriz de Touzet, Argentina; Lisa Av-
ery, Canada; Merethe Moerk, Norway; Steen
ation in the wonderful city of Dublin, the Stuttering Foundation/Northwest- Fibiger, Denmark; Jane Fraser, U.S.A.; Yu-
Ireland. In my talk, “Physiological ern/Iowa Workshop for Specialists! lia Filatova, Russia; Anne-Marie Simon,
Indices of Speech This group met for several photos in France; David Shapiro, U.S.A. Florence-
and Language Pro- honor of Dr. Hugo Gregory who direct- Juillerat, Switzerland.
cesses: New Win- ed the Northwestern Workshop
dows on the Onset for 16 years. ❑
of Stuttering in
Young Children,”
I reviewed some
of the accomplish-
ments of the Pur-
due Stuttering Pro-
ject and outlined Anne Smith, Ph.D.
our ongoing re-
search studies. Here are some of the
highlights from that talk: Blanca Gonzalez, SFA founder Malcolm
At Dublin Castle opening reception, Joe Spain . Fraser’s granddaugh-
First, to let you know our point of Fulcher, U.S.A.; Beatriz deTouzet, Ar- ter Celia Gruss, France,
view about stuttering — Despite the gentina; Peter Tonev, Bulgaria; Jane Fras- and Yulia Filatova, Rus-
diversity of the disorder in different er, U.S.A.; and Ma Carme Junca, and sia, at Dublin Castle.
people who stutter, all individuals Marina Llobera, Spain.
who stutter exhibit breakdowns in the
motor processes necessary for speak-
ing. The factors that influence these Ruth Ezrati,
Israel; and Claudia Furquim de
breakdowns in speech are complex. Andrade, Brazil; and
We have proposed that a complete Isabella Reichel,
U.S.A. Suzana Jelcic Jaksic,
model of stuttering must incorporate Croatia.
motor, linguistic, cognitive, psychoso-
cial, and genetic factors, and that the
model must explain how these factors
interact during childhood to produce
the disruptions in speech that makes
one a person who stutters.
What we know from studies of
adults who stutter — Much of our
earlier work on the Purdue Stutter- Joseph Nsubuga,
ing Project was focused on adults Uganda; Jane
who stutter. These studies were es- Fraser; and Yuki
sential to establish what the physio- Hara, Japan. Front row: Lisa Avery, Canada; Simona
Bernardini, Italy; Jane Fraser; and Massim-
logical bases of the disorder are in in- iliano Marchiori, Italy. Back row: Suzana
dividuals with chronic stuttering. Jelcic Jaksic, Croatia; JoAnne Wilding,
Our findings, in addition to those Canada; Isis Meira, Brazil; Beatriz de Touzet,
from many other research groups, Argentina; Peter Tonev, Bulgaria; Merethe
mapped the differences in speech Moerk, Norway; Steen Fibiger, Denmark;
movement and muscle activity that Anne-Marie Simon, France; David Shapiro,
occur during disfluent speech in the U.S.A; Florence Juillerat, Switzerland and
face, voice, and breathing areas. We Mirjana Lasan, Croatia.
also looked at language processing
in adults who stutter when they are
Continued on page 4
Joseph Agius, Malta, at the SFA booth.

3. FA L L 2 0 0 6 1-800-992-9392 3
Quality journalism honored Childhood
For the 15th year, the Stuttering article gave read- stuttering part of
Foundation recognizes excellence in ers the tools they
news reporting. need to identify
The 2006 Media Awards go to five stuttering in young U.S. Congressman Frank R. Wolf
distinguished journalists. children and offers of Virginia read the article about
Each winning entry successfully useful advice on Tiger Woods
enhanced public understanding of how to improve from the summer
this complex speech disorder during fluency. newsletter and
the past year. Culp Mildred L. Culp submitted re-
“Journalists in a variety of media took first place for marks to the
have done an outstanding job of her nationally syndicated column Congressional
focusing on the causes and treat- Workwise. In her inspirational col- Record to draw
ment of stuttering over the past umn, Dr. Culp explained how peo- attention to
year,” said Jane Fraser, president of ple who stutter can childhood
the 59-year-old nonprofit founda- make it in the stuttering.
tion. “We were particularly pleased workplace. On June 20,
this year to see in- Joy ce L a i n the congress-
creased focus on Kennedy earned man said, “Mr
stuttering in the second place. Her Speaker, I rise to-
workplace, an area nationally syndi- day to bring the at- Wolf
that’s previously cated column Ca- t en t i o n o f t h e
not received much reers Now helped House to an article I recently read
attention.” a reader who stut- Kennedy
about Tiger Woods in the Stutter-
T. Grant Fitch ters prepare for a job interview. ing Foundation’s summer newslet-
of the Post-Tri- In t h e t el ev i s i o n cat eg o ry, ter. I stuttered as a child and I think
Fitch
bune, Merrillville, Janelle Wolfe of Comcast Tonight, it’s important for kids to know that
Ind., received first Reading, Pa., re- they can overcome this complex
place in the daily newspaper cate- ceived first place disorder. Tiger Woods is an excel-
gory for “Saving stutterers.” The for a lively seg- lent example of the many people
article provided readers with time- ment feat u ri n g who have led successful lives de-
ly information that parents can use speech-language spite struggling with stuttering as
to help their children overcome pathologist Joseph a child. ❑
stuttering, includ- Donaher of Chil-
ing taking advan- dren’s Hospital of
tage of resources Philadelphia and Wolfe
offered by their lo- the DVD Stutter- Transatlantic Continued from front page
cal schools. ing: For Kids, By Kids. Donaher
Dorothy P. and Wolfe shared timely resources his role in A Fish Called Wanda, in
Dougherty, for children who stutter. which he portrayed a character
Archives of Pedi- The awards were announced dur- called Ken who stuttered. He based
atrics & Adoles- ing Stuttering Awareness Week, the role on his own father who suf-
cent Medicine Dougherty May 8-14. 20/20’s co-anchor John fered from stuttering all his life.
earned first place Stossel led this year’s awareness Palin is best known for his comic
for magazine articles. Dougherty’s campaign. ❑ roles as part of the Monty Python
comedy group. ❑
Speaking wasn’t always easy for Damon
New York Daily News writer Antho-
ny McCarron inspired people of all ages
with a July article that told of Yankees
outfielder Johnny Damon and stuttering.
“...speaking didn’t used to be so
easy for Damon. For several years as
a child, he stuttered so badly he was
afraid to introduce himself. Some-
times, there was cruel teasing from
other kids,” McCarron wrote.
“My mind was going a thousand and got better,” recalled Damon, who Diana de Grunwald, Willie Botterill and
miles an hour and my mouth would started speech therapy in second grade. Frances Cook of the Michael Palin Cen-
say whatever came to it. I slowed down, A link to the complete article is at tre for Stammering Children with Jane
took my time, connected my words www.stutteringhelp.org. ❑ Fraser of the Stuttering Foundation.

4. 4 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
Rabinowitz’s podcast Help for back-to-school season
World-renowned wildlife conserva-
tionist Alan Rabinowitz has been lead- With school back in session, the Stut- Recently, it was featured in Teach-
ing the fight to tering Foundation offers materials that ing Pre K-8, on several Web sites and
save tigers in are helpful for teachers and students. in a number of other publications.
the remote Stuttering: For Kids, By Kids is a Complete with handbook, this
Hukaung Val- 12-minute DVD that features an an- DVD helps answer common ques-
ley in northern- imated basketball speaking with chil- tions educators may have when teach-
most Mynmar. dren of various ages ing a child who stutters.
Now, you about their stuttering. “By presenting a
can listen to all Brooklyn-based range of perspectives,
of the details speech pathologist Peter Stuttering: Straight Talk
of Alan’s fascinating journey on a Reitzes, M.A., lets his for Teachers can build a
podcast at www.audible.com/tiger- students bring friends to shared dialog and a strong
man. There is also a link directly to his view the video with. He educational partnership
podcast at www.stutteringhelp.org. provides doughnuts and that includes the thera-
Rabinowitz has previously said milk for the “party.” pist, teachers, parents and
struggling with stuttering helped During and after the student,” writes reviewer
shape his life.
A DVD of an inspirational keynote video, Reitzes keeps an MaryAnn Byrnes, Ed.D.,
address by Rabinowitz is also avail- open discussion with students of top- University of Massachusetts, Boston.
able from the Foundation. ❑ ics discussed on the video such as She adds she’ll be recommending it to
“what is stuttering?,” “does stuttering her colleagues in schools.
bother you?,” “is stuttering a big deal Both videos can be ordered in VHS
for you?,” “teasing,” “talking open- and DVD. They are also available as
Translation for ly about stuttering,” and “advice for free streaming video at www.stut-
Russian teachers children who go to speech therapy.”
After watching the video, he asks
teringhelp.org.
Notes to the Teacher brochure is
Vyatcheslav V. Lep- each student to write down two things another great resource. It answers
tyukhov, author of the they liked or learned from the film. questions educators may have and
Web site www.stut- He then collects the responses and includes 9 Tips for Talking With the
tering.ru, is translat- reads them aloud. Child Who Stutters.
ing Stuttering: Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teach- Visit www.stutteringhelp.org to see
Straight Talk for ers is another popular DVD that has these products or call toll-free 800-
Teachers handbook received nationwide attention. 992-9392. ❑
into Russian. ❑
Web conference to Windows Continued from page 2 support the later years!).
We know from earlier research
explore stuttering not speaking. One surprising finding that approximately half of the chil-
was that when adults who stutter are dren who are stuttering at 4-5
In October individuals interested in reading, their brains are processing
stuttering, professional therapists as years, will persist and have a
some aspects of language very differ- chronic stuttering problem, while
well as clients and their ently compared to control partici-
support persons, will approximately half of these chil-
pants who do not stutter. dren will recover. By using new
discuss this much mis- What we are doing now — We
understood speech dis- experimental windows on how
all know that stuttering starts in very
order in one of the young children. Over the past five y o u n g b rai n s a re d ev el o pi n g
largest professional con- years, we have been developing speech, we hope to develop meth-
ferences of the year. But ods by which we can predict which
not face-to-face — this ways to gather the same physiolog-
ical measures from young children. children are likely to have a chron-
conference is freely- ic stuttering problem. In addition
available on the Internet. By adapting our methods and mak-
ing them kid friendly, we have been we will attempt to determine the
The ninth annual International Stut- factors that play a critical role in
tering Online Conference runs from able to test children as young as
four. In the current phase of the Pur- the development of chronic stut-
October 1-22 at the Stuttering Home tering so that better therapies for
Page, www.stutteringhomepage.com. due Stuttering Project, we are bring-
Conference presentations are posted ing in a group of 50 children who young children will be available.
stutter ages 4-5 years. We plan to test Thanks to the National Institute on Deaf-
for reading on the web site. Presenta- ness and Other Communicative Disorders
tions are designed for a general audi- these children and a matched group
and to the Malcolm Fraser Foundation for
ence, and feedback and discussion is in- of non-stuttering children over a their support of the Purdue Stuttering Pro-
vited through an Internet bulletin board. five-year period (please note that ject, which is co-directed by Anne Smith,
Past conferences have drawn par- the NIH, because of budget re- Ph.D., and Christine Weber-Fox, Ph.D. It
ticipation from more than 130 differ- straints, only gave us 3 years of has been exploring new frontiers in the
ent countries around the world. ❑ funding , and we hope to get them to physiology of stuttering since 1989. ❑

5. FA L L 2 0 0 6 1-800-992-9392 5
Workshop ‘enriching, engrossing, enlightening’
In June, Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia (CHOP), Florida State
University, and the Stuttering Foun-
dation co-sponsored the first Mid-
Atlantic Workshop in Philadelphia.
Twenty-one speech-language
pathologists from California, Illi-
nois, Kentucky, Maryland, Okla-
homa, New Jersey, New York, Penn-
sylvania, South Dakota, Virginia,
Canada, and South Africa met June
21-25 on the CHOP campus to learn
how to assess and treat preschool-
ers, school-age children, and adoles-
cents who stutter.
The workshop was led by co-instruc-
tors Joe Donaher, Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia; Kristin Chmela, private
Front row (seated): Lisa Scott, Kristin Chmela, Jane Fraser, Joe Donaher; Second row:
practice, Long Grove, Ill.; and Lisa Kate Eichstadt, Brett Kluetz, Anne Marie Wagener, Astrid Cordero, Lonnie Harris, Rox-
Scott, Florida State University. anne Fleck, Joanne Summer, Terri Hessler, Jennifer Kleinow, Jim Mancinelli, Diedre Den-
The goals of the workshop were nis, Lori-Ann Acenas Mauricio, Carol Ellis, Kris Kelley, Lori Graca Griffin; Back row:
to increase participants’ skills and Kris Baines, Stacey Simpson, Dina Lilian, Steffi Schopick, Carolyn Belle, and Maya Brown.
confidence in communicating ef-
fectively with children, diagnose
the extent and severity of the disor-
der, develop appropriate treatment
plans, design meaningful therapy
activities, and learn to model both
fluency shaping and stuttering mod-
ification tools.
Emphasis was placed on creating
relationships with children, families,
and teachers that would facilitate the A time to talk about caseloads and network
is part of the conference. Participants watch a video of a therapy
greatest success for children who are session.
working to improve their communi-
cation skills. Learning opportunities Dr. Judy
included traditional lectures, guided Gravel and
case planning, daily small-group Joe Donaher
practice of the various clinical and re- of the
lationship skills, and watching video- Children’s
Hospital of
tapes of therapy sessions. Philadelphia.
The participants and instructors all
agreed that the workshop was a great
success. “We were so thrilled to have
so many clinicians from a variety of Jennifer Kleinow, LaSalle University; Kris
work settings devote a week of their Baines, California; and Brett Kluetz, Balti-
summer to learning more about stut- more, share ideas.
tering,” said Kristin Chmela. Maya Brown,
ucation experience of my profes- Nova Scotia,
Joe Donaher was especially en- Canada, and
thused about hosting so many indi- sional career. Thank you for making Lonnie Har-
viduals interested in helping children it possible!” ris, Kentucky.
who stutter, saying that “The dedica- James Mancinelli of La Salle Uni-
tion of these SLPs to helping kids is versity said, “My experience at the
inspirational. Many children will ben- 2006 Mid-Atlantic Workshop was
efit from the talents and interest of enriching, engrossing, enlightening, ists held at the University of Iowa.
these individuals.” and certainly enticed me to learn For applications or more informa-
Feedback from workshop partic- more about stuttering and ways to tion, contact the Stuttering Founda-
ipants was outstanding, and includ- better serve people who stutter.” tion at 1-800-992-9392, download
ed comments such as “I really think Additional five-day workshops are applications on the web at www.stut-
this week will stand out as perhaps being planned for Summer 2007, as well teringhelp.org, or email info@stutter-
the most significant continuing ed- as the two-week Workshop for Special- inghelp.org. ❑

6. 6 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
Dear SFA: Reader Response
Send letters to SFA, P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN 38111-0749 or email info@stutteringhelp.org.
Poem on stuttering Greetings from overseas Wonderful Web site
Dear SFA, Dear SFA,
Hi my name is Alicia and I’m 13 I want to thank you for creating a
years old. I’ve been stuttering since I wonderful Web site that helps people
was 5 years old. I’m from Virginia with their stuttering. I have been stut-
Beach, Va. Here is a poem I wrote: tering ever since kindergarten and
The Stuttering Ways now I am in high school.
By Alicia I’ve had great speech teachers. I
Coming home, covered in tears had hard-talking stuttering from age
Life swept away by fear 4 to age 10. Now my speech is clear-
Can’t even say my name ing up slowly.
To worried about playing games It really hurts me that I can’t talk
Friends and Family Day in Mauritius.
like other students.
You’re always put on the spot Dear SFA: I just want to say I do not feel bad
Pretending to be someone you’re not I would like to thank you for all the about stuttering.
Avoiding words that you can’t say materials I have received in good or- Jonathan, 14
Is getting worse day by day der. I have added them to our library so Greenville, Miss.
What is happening to my brain? that every member of Parole d’Espoir
It causes so much pain can use them. I am also glad to in- Mission to Togo
Trying to give a class presentation clude a photo of our group which was
Just ruins your reputation taken during Friends and Family Day.
Trying to do something new Jim Caroopen
Is hard while kids are teasing you Mauritius
Always fluent when singing
Never while mingling Fan of James Earl Jones
Never press hardly Dear SFA,
Always try to touch lightly I really like your newsletter and
brochures that you I went to Togo on behalf of the ISA
Speech is like a river flowing have about stuttering.
Until a rock falls in and keeps it to give conferences on stuttering and
The brochure that train students of the first generation of
from going tells different facts speech therapists in West and Central
I’ll never be a lawyer or vet about stuttering is Africa. I am happy to announce the
I’ll deserve more than what I’ll get great. I did not know Togolese Stutterers’ Association was
Why did this have to happen to me? that so many people created in June ‘06 in Lomé.
Can’t you see that it isn’t easy being stuttered. James Earl James Earl Anne Marie Simon
like me? Jones is my favorite. Jones Paris
Take a walk in my shoes for a day Damarius Editor’s note: Anne Marie attended the SFA/NU
Workshop for Specialists in 1988 and carries the
Would you want to live my way? Greenville, Miss. torch worldwide.
A picture’s worth... The artwork at the left is by Bryce, 8,
Amagansett, N.Y., who wrote, “When
I talk, a really mean monster sneaks up
on me and shoves a rock in my throat.
Everything gets tight and I can’t talk.
Tne more rocks begin coming up. I
sometimes get scared and want to run
away. My speech teacher has taught me
ways to help when this happens. I take
a deep breath and stretch out the begin-
nings of my words and sentences and
then I spit up the rocks! Then I feel
much better and I can talk again. I also Above: Gage, 10, writes, “My stutter
try not to speak too fast when I get is a car driving on a bumpy road.”
mad or excited. If you try really hard,
you can get the monster and stuttering Do you have artwork to share? You
to go away too. can e-mail it to info@stutteringhelp.org.

7. FA L L 2 0 0 6 1-800-992-9392 7
Singer Withers overcame stuttering
While Bill Withers has long been My Love and Who Is He (And Who Is
on the SFA list of “Famous People He to You). However, it is the classic
Who Stutter,” many people proba- song Lean On Me, which is most re-
bly didn’t realize he stuttered. membered, topping the Billboard Hot
The April/May 2006 issue of the 100 charts for three weeks in July 1972
magazine Waxpoet- in addition to topping the R & B charts.
ics sheds some light Between 1972 and 1979, Withers
on the brilliant career put out five albums. In 1981, he
of the famed singer teamed up with saxophonist Grover
and songwriter. Washington Jr., both writing and per- Daniel Altman is interviewed by WAVE 3
Born in 1938 in forming lead vocals on Washington’s TV News.
Slab Fork, W.V., hit Just the Two of Us, which spent
Withers was the
youngest of six chil- Withers
three weeks at number two.
Just the Two of Us garnered him Teen speaks out
dren. When his father
died when Withers was small, he was
four Grammy nominations that year.
In 1987, Withers received his ninth
about stuttering
raised by his mother and grandmother, Grammy nomination and won his third Daniel Altman, 13, decided to
both of whom worked as domestics. Grammy award on account of Club make stuttering awareness the focus
Not motivated in school and strug- Nouveau covering Lean On Me and of the community service project for
gling with stuttering, Withers taking it to number one on the Bill- his upcoming bar mitzvah. His goal
dropped out after ninth grade, later to board charts. It marked the fifth time is to tell as many people as possible
join the Navy. It was in the Navy in the rock era that a song had reached in the Louisville, Ky., area that stut-
that for the first time he was able re- number one by two different artists. tering is nothing to be ashamed of.
ceive adequate speech therapy. In this case, it was the first time that Daniel took his campaign to
The article in Waxpoetics lists, both artists who recorded the song Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson,
“...his chronic stutter as one of the were African-American. Withers’ who issued a proclamation declar-
possible reasons he stayed in the ser- songs have been recorded over the ing the Week of May 8 as Stuttering
vice for so long, because he used the last 36 years by hundreds of artists, Awareness Week in Louisville and
time to become comfortable with such as Barbra Stresiand, Michael Southern Indiana.
speech and gain self-confidence.” Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Sting, The teenager also hung this year’s
After his hitch in the Navy, With- Temptations, Paul McCartney, Tom Stuttering Awareness Week poster fea-
ers worked in jobs ranging from air- Jones, Joe Cocker and Mick Jagger. turing 20/20’s John Stossel around town.
craft repairman to milkman. Finally Some articles from past decades Daniel wants to place stuttering
in 1967, at age 29, he decided to pur- credit the newfound fluency that With- resource materials in every public li-
sue his interest in music. ers received from his speech therapy brary in Louisville before his bar
The famed Booker T. Jones pro- in the Navy as giving him the confi- mitzvah, which is on Nov. 4.
duced his first album, Just As I Am, dence to pursue a career in music. In order to further his efforts,
which was recorded with the MG’s Unlike many other artists, Withers Daniel wrote local TV and radio sta-
as the backing band along with was able to retain much of his song- tions asking them to publicize stutter-
Stephen Stills. Ironically, the lead sin- writing and publishing rights. Lean ing awareness week.
gle Harlem failed to chart, but its B- On Me alone is said to have turned At least one local station, WAVE 3,
side, Ain’t No Sunshine went gold. into a multi-million dollar goldmine featured Daniel and his efforts on
The song also catapulted Withers to over the years with use in movies their newscast and Web site.
stardom in the music world, as he won and advertisements, as well as ex- Daniel knows firsthand how diffi-
his first Grammy as a songwriter. tensive radio play. cult stuttering can be. But he told the
Withers follow-up album Still Bill He hopes to soon release his first NBC station he doesn’t try to hide it
yielded hits such as Use Me, Kissing album of new material since 1985. ❑ when others try to embarrass him.
“I just kind of lay it out — ‘I stut-
ter and I don’t appreciate it that you
Woolwine takes her message on the road make fun of me. Please stop’.”
Eva Woolwine, who ran for Miss requests and invitations to speak and Daniel’s efforts are especially for
Kansas this summer, is taking time perform,” she said. other kids who are not yet brave
off from pageants “I have been going everywhere: enough to take a stand.
to focus on college, civic groups, senior citizen groups, “It’s a sad thing, which is why I
and stuttering classrooms, Retired Teachers Asso- need to further educate people so that
awareness. ciation of Kansas. I have many more people won’t have to cower inside
Woolwine, who coming up in the fall.” corners. People can feel more com-
also performs mag- Woolwine has served as junior fortable about who they are,” he told
ic tricks, says she’s spokesperson for the SFA and partic- the Louisville station.
been very busy. ipated in last year’s National Associ- In addition to the on-air segment,
“This summer I ation of Young People Who Stutter: reporter Lori Lyle provided links to
have received more Woolwine Friends Convention. ❑ resources online. ❑

8. 8 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
Ehud Continued from front page ency) and that recovery from stuttering sistency or recovery.
would occur as these children reduce In summary, although we believe that
(Ratner, 1997) and the Cognitive Inter- their early accelerated rate of language associations between stuttering and sev-
ference Model (Bosshardt, 2002). Inves- development. If our findings are valid, eral linguistic variables do exist, so far no
tigators have focused their studies on they will have important clinical impli- clear causal relations have been estab-
five distinct linguistic variables: (a) cations for parent counseling and thera- lished, and there is no consensus on their
phonological aspects, (b) loci of stutter- py programs. precise role or contributions as risk fac-
ing, (c) language complexity, (d) prag- To be sure, there is no consensus at this tors for the onset of stuttering and its
matics (child’s use of language), and (e) juncture concerning advanced language persistence, or their influence on natural
language skills. For example, research skills as a risk factor in early childhood recovery. This and several other aspects
concerned with the first variable listed stuttering. Recently, a few studies report- of the stuttering-language connection
above has provided evidence that stut- ed some results that differ from the Illi- continue to be the subject of scientific dis-
tering is increased as a function of lan- nois findings. These studies, however, cussions and controversies (Nippold,
guage complexity (Logan & Conture, 2004; Wingate, 2001). Fortunately, it has
1995, Zackheim & Conture, 2003). “... high language attracted very rich and varied research ac-
Regarding language as risk factor, tivities, the fruits of which should signif-
perhaps most interesting to clinicians skills rather than icantly enhance our understanding and
and parents has been a relatively long- low ones might treatment of stuttering.
standing view that stuttering children be a risk factor REFERENCES
are more likely than normally speaking Anderson, J., & Conture, E. (2000). Language abilities of
peers to have language learning diffi- for stuttering, children who stutter: A preliminary study. Journal of Fluen-
cy Disorders, 25, 283-304.
culties or impairments (see reviews by particularly for Andrews, G., Craig, A., Feyer, A., Hoddinott, S., Howie,
P., & Neilson, M. (1983). Stuttering: A review of research
Andrews, et al., 1983, and Ratner, 1997). persistent, chronic findings and theories circa 1982. Journal of Speech and Hear-
ing Disorders, 48, 226-246.
A few current articles continue to prop-
agate this view (Arndt & Healey, 2001; stuttering. ” Arndt, J., & Healey, C. (2001). Concomitant disorders in
school-age children who stutter. Language, Speech and Hear-
ing Services in Schools, 32, 68-78.
Wingate, 2001). On the other hand, over Blood, G., Ridenour, V. J., Qualls, C. D., & Hammer, C. S.
the past 15 years, extensive longitudinal raise questions concerning their methods. (2003). Co-occurring disorders in children who stutter. Journal
of Communication Disorders, 36, 427-448.
studies at the University of Illinois Stut- For example, Anderson and Conture Bloodstein, O. (2002). Early stuttering as a type of lan-
guage difficulty. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 27, 163-167.
tering Research Program have revealed (2000) noted that although all their par- Bosshardt, H. (2002). Effects of concurrent cognitive pro-
no delayed language development in ticipants had language abilities at or above cessing on the fluency of word repetition: Comparison between
persons who do and do not stutter. Journal of Fluency Dis-
young children who stutter. To the con- normal limits, the stuttering children still orders, 27, 93-114.
trary, we have found that near onset they demonstrated somewhat lower skills in Brown, S. (1937). The influence of grammatical function
on the incidence of stuttering. Journal of Speech Disorders,
fall within normal range; in fact, often certain areas than normally speaking 3, 223-230.
Brown, S. (1945). The locus of stuttering in the speech se-
well above normal (Watkins, Yairi & peers. Watkins and Johnson (2004), how- quence. Journal of Speech Disorders, 10, 181-192.
Ambrose, 1999). Recent research in oth- ever, pointed out that in many past stud- Chevekeva, N. (1967). About methods of overcoming
stuttering: A survey of the literature. Spetsial Shkola, 3, 9-15.
er laboratories in the U.S.A. and Eu- ies reporting lower language skills in Häge, A. (2001). Können kognitive und linguistische
rope supports this finding (Anderson & children who stutter, the comparison Fähigkeiten zur Verlaufsprognose kindlichen Stotterns beitra-
gen? (Cognitive and linguistic abilities in young children: Are
Conture, 2000; Häge, 2001; Miles & groups of normally speaking subjects they able to predict the further development of stuttering?).
Sprache Stimme Gehör, 25, 20-24.
Ratner, 2001), which seems to agree were selected in biased ways, often com- Levina, R. (1966). Study and treatment of stammering
with many parents’ reports that their ing from appreciably higher social groups children. In A. D’yachov (Ed.), Specialized Schools, 120, (4).
Moscow: Education Publishing House. (Translation published
child had a spurt of language develop- known to have richer language. In con- in Journal of Learning Disabilities (1968), 1, 26-29.)
Logan, K. & Conture, E. (1995). Relationships between
ment just prior to the onset of stuttering, trast, the Illinois studies addressed this length,grammatical complexity, rate, and fluency of conversation-
speaking in longer sentences and using problem by comparing the performance al utterances in children who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders,
20, 35-61.
new words. (They often say that “his of the stuttering children to a much broad- Miles, S., & Ratner, N. B. (2001). Parental language in-
brain seemed to be working faster than er base of well-established normative put to children at stuttering onset. Journal of Speech, Language
and Hearing Research, 44, 1116-1130
his mouth” could manage.) Further- data. It is possible, however, that further Nippold, M. (2004). Phonological and language disorders
in children who stutter: Impact on treatment consid-
more, we have found that children who research with preschool children using erations. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 18(2), 145-159.
eventually persist in stuttering tend to per- more sensitive tools will reveal discrete Ratner, N. (1997). Stuttering: A psycholinguistic perspec-
tive. In R. F. Curlee and G. M. Siegel (Eds.) Nature and Treat-
form above normative expectations at the language differences between groups. ment of Stuttering: New Directions. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
early stage of stuttering and maintain Other examples of disagreement are seen Postma, A., & Kolk, H. (1993). The covert repair hypoth-
esis: Prearticulatory repair in normal and stuttered disfluen-
that level over time. Children who even- in studies with school aged children who cies. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 472-487.
Starkweather, W. (1987). Fluency and Stuttering. Engle-
tually recover, however, tend to perform stutter reporting between 9 and 13% of wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
above normal at the early stage of the dis- the children to exhibit concomitant lan- Watkins, R. , & Johnson, B. (2004). Language abilities in young
children who stutter: Toward improved research and clinical ap-
order but approach the norm as they re- guage difficulties (Blood, Ridenhour, plications. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools.
Qualls, & Hammer, 2003). Keep in mind Watkins, R., Yairi, E., & Ambrose, N. (1999). Early
cover (Watkins et al., 1999, Yairi & Am- childhood stuttering III: Initial status of expressive language
brose, 2005). Strangely, then, high lan- however, that by this age at least 75% of abilities. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Re-
search, 42, 1125-1135.
guage skills rather than low ones might the original stuttering population had dis- Wingate, M. (2001). SLD is not stuttering. Journal of
be a risk factor for stuttering, particular- appeared due to natural recovery. The Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 44, 381-383.
Yairi, E. (1983). The onset of stuttering in two- and three-
ly for persistent, chronic stuttering. It is remaining (persistent) minority has been year-old children: A preliminary report. Journal of Speech and
Hearing Disorders, 48, 171-177.
intriguing to theorize that the emergence reported to possess some different genet- Yairi, E. & Ambrose, N. (2005). Early Childhood Stut-
of stuttering involves some type of trade- ic components. All in all, at the present, tering. Austin: Pro Ed.
Zackheim, C. & Conture, E. (2003). Childhood stuttering
off in linguistic resources (e.g., advanced language alone is insufficient for making and speech disfluencies in relation to children's mean length
language at the expense of motoric flu- strong early predictions of eventual per- of utterance: A preliminary study. Journal of Fluency Disor-
ders, 28, 115-142. ❑

9. FA L L 2 0 0 6 1-800-992-9392 9
School clinician conference gets high marks
The Marriott Conference Center
in Lisle, Ill., was the setting for the
Stuttering Foundation’s annual con-
ference for school clinicians, Stut-
tering Therapy: Practical Ideas for
the School Clinician.
Eighty-five people attended this
conference representing 13 states and
a variety of employment settings, in-
cluding schools, university clinics,
and private practice.
Participants heard presentations Conference leaders: Mary Mantilla, Ann McKeehan, Bill Murphy, Susan Hamilton, Jen-
from Tricia Zebrowski, Charlie nifer Watson, Charles Healey, Kristin Chmela, Susan Cochrane, Carolyn Gregory,
Healey, Peter Ramig, Bill Murphy, Kevin Eldridge, Elise Kaufman, Peter Ramig, and Lisa Scott.
Lisa Scott, and Kristin Chmela on
topics such as current research in
childhood stuttering, practical strate-
gies for therapy, functional methods
for measuring progress, counseling
children and their families about
stuttering, treating children with con-
comitant communication disorders,
and dealing effectively with guilt
and shame.
New this year, guided practice ses- Time was set aside during the conference for
sions were held in the main session attendees to share stories.
room with guided practice leaders
seated at each table. This created an The unique combination of pre- Several Watson and Carolyn Gregory. Back
Jennifer
2006 conference leaders. Seated:
intimate and personalized learning sentations balanced with small group row: Ann McKeehan, Susan M. Cochrane,
environment that made discussion guided practice make this confer- Patricia Zebrowski, Jane Fraser, and Elise
and practice easy. Small group guid- ence one of the premier continuing S. Kaufman.
ed practice leaders included Susan education opportunities available to
Cochrane, Kevin Eldridge, Susan school-based speech pathologists.
Hamilton, Elise Kaufman, Mary Evaluations by attendees were con-
Mantilla, Ann McKeehan, and Jen- sistently positive: “This conference
nifer Watson. was a huge energizer for me. Proba-
Presenters profiled children who bly the best I’ve ever been to,” “This
stutter through the use of video seg- conference was one of the most infor-
ments and examples of child re- mational and inspirational ones I’ve
sponses. The audience responded been to,” “The hands-on discussion
enthusiastically to these strategies groups were wonderful and were so
which facilitated greater understand- helpful in being able to share and
ing. Many clinicians were happy to learn from others.”
have the opportunity to see tech- Another attendee remarked, “This
niques and ideas being demonstrat- conference has changed my perspec-
ed as well as to ask questions of tive of my own abilities to help chil- New format makes it easier to exchange ideas
leading experts in stuttering. dren and adults who stutter.” ❑ during guided practice sessions.
For Combined Federal Campaign Exciting news out of Russia
donors, please note that our code For the first time ever, the SFA is in- and a more recent
number for the 2006–2007 cluded in the Russian Journal of Spe- photo from the Iowa
CFC campaign is cial Education. workshop.
The article, by Yulia Filatova, tells Filatova, who re-
CFC #2539. the history of the Foundation, describes sides in Moscow,
We are proud that over 95 cents the workshops for specialists in stutter- also wrote a book
of every dollar goes directly into ing, and outlines the SFA’s outreaches. about cluttering that
helping those who stutter. The article includes a picture of the will be published
Foundation’s first conference in 1957 in the fall.

10. 12 www.stutteringhelp.org 1-800-992-9392
NEWSBRIEFS The Stuttering Foundation Five Day Eastern
Workshop, Diagnosis and Treatment of Chil-
Books on Stuttering or Related
Topics Available from Bookstores:
donations
dren and Adolescents Who Stutter: Practical Our thanks to the University of
Strategies, will be held at Boston University, Stuttering: An Integrated Approach to Its Nature and Cincinnati and Nova Southeastern
June 20-24, 2007. Workshop leaders are Diane Treatment, Third Edition by Barry Guitar. 2006. Available University chapters of the National
Parris, M.A., Sheryl Gottwald, Ph.D., and Adri- from Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 800-638-3030, Student Speech-Lan-
ana DiGrande, M.A. with guest speaker Edward
G. Conture, Ph.D. The Stuttering Foundation
www.LWW.com guage-Hearing Asso-
Stuttering Recovery Personal and Empirical Perspectives ciation for their recent
pays all tuition costs as well as room and board by Dale F. Williams. 2006. Available from Lawrence Erl-
for this exceptional in-depth workshop. gifts to the SFA.
baum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, www.erlbaum.com
The Stuttering Foundation Five Day West-
Speech Therapy for the Severe Older Adolescent and
The generous gift
ern Workshop, Diagnosis and Treatment of
Adult Stutterer: A Program for Change by George Helliesen.
from the student
Children and Adolescents Who Stutter: Prac-
2006. Available from Apollo Press, Newport News, VA, chapter at the Univer-
tical Strategies, will be held at Portland State sity of Cincinnati will
800-683-9713, www.apollopress.com.
University in Portland, Oregon, June 20-24,
The Child and Adolescent Stuttering Treatment and Ac- help children who stutter.
2007. Workshop leaders are Susan Hamilton,
M.A., Jennifer Watson, Ph.D., and Ellen
tivity Resource Guide by Peter Ramig and Darrell Dodge. A student at Nova contributed $300
Reuler, M.A. The Stuttering Foundation pays
2005. Available from Thomson Delmar Learning, Clifton in honor of her fellow students.
all tuition costs as well as room and board for this ex- Park, NY. “I hope this will encourage others
ceptional in-depth workshop. Early Childhood Stuttering: For Clinicians by Clini- to do the same,” she wrote. “The
The Stuttering Foundation two-week Workshop for cians by Ehud Yairi and Nicoline Grinager Ambrose. Stuttering Foundation is certainly a
2005. Available from ProEd, Austin, TX and amazon.com.
Specialists will be held at the University of Iowa, Iowa cause that NSSLHA students can
City, Iowa, June 17-29, 2007, directed by Patricia Ze- Begaiement: Intervention preventive precoce chez le je-
une enfant by Anne Marie Simon et al. 2005. Available from
support and know that their gift is
browski, Ph.D. and Toni Cilek, M.A. Guest speakers in-
the Association Parole Begaiement, www.begaiement.org
making a difference.” ❑
clude Lisa Scott, Ph.D., and others to be announced. This
unique workshop brings together speech-language pathol- Teach Me How To Say It Right, Helping Your Child With
ogists from all over the world for its 18th year. As in the Articulation Problems by Dorothy P. Dougherty, M.A.
five-day workshops, the Stuttering Foundation pays all 2005. Published by New Harbinger's Publications, Oakland,
tuition costs and room and board for the two weeks. CA. Available at www.newharbinger.com. Drug results promising
The 2006 National British Stammering Associa- Troy’s Amazing Universe, by S. Kennedy Tosten. 2002. Indevus Pharmaceuticals an-
tion (BSA) Conference will be held at the Telford Published by Brite Press. Order from www.TroysAmazingU-
campus of the University of Wolverhampton, England,
nounced the results
niverse.com or amazon.com. A story about a seven year old
Sept. 15-17, 2006. who stutters.
of a Phase II trial
The Annual Convention of Friends will be held in late The Strong Silent Type, by C. Kelly Robinson. A grip-
for pagoclone in
June or early July 2007 in St. Louis. For information and ping novel about a young NFL star coming to grips with stuttering and the
registration, visit www.friendswhostutter.org or call his stuttering. Available from New American Library, New data were quite promising.
866-866-8335. York, and www.amazon.com. Indevus said it was very encour-
First World Conference on Cluttering: “It’s about Experiencias para compatir entre padres e hijos by Ka- aged by the results of the trial on a
time” will be May 12-14, 2007, in Razlog, Bulgaria. rina Couselo Rios, Maria Marta Gebara and Mariela number of levels. Very importantly,
The International Stuttering Association will
hold the 8th Congress for People Who Stutter
Ginhson. Order from equipfono_gcg@yahoo.com. the safety profile of pagoclone was
May 6-10, 2007, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Visit
Stuttering Therapy: Rationale and Procedures by Hugo excellent, as it has been in previous
H. Gregory, June H. Campbell, Diane G. Hill, and Carolyn trials, the drug company reported.
www.isa.org.
B. Gregory. Available from Allyn and Bacon, Boston,
Dave Germeyer offers a repair service for the Ed- Indevus will be meeting with FDA
MA; www.ablongman.com. 2003.
inburgh Masker. Contact him via e-mail at dgerm-
Les begaiements: Histoire, psychologie, evaluation, va-
to define the pathway for further devel-
eye@earthlink.net, write G.D. Germeyer, 306 S.
rietes, traitements by Anne Van Hout and Francoise Esti-
opment of pagoclone for stuttering.
Baltimore St., Dillsburg, PA 17019-1011, or call Stay tuned at www.stutteringhelp.org
(717) 432-3103. enne. Published by Masson, S.A., 120 boulevard Saint
Germain, 75280 Paris Cedex 06, France. for more information. ❑
LISTSERV for doctoral students specializing in stut-
tering. The intent of this list is to serve as an open fo- Forty Years After Therapy: One Man’s Story by George
rum for doctoral students. Membership is limited to Helliesen, M.A. Available from Apollo Press, Inc., 1-800-
683-9713 or www.apollopress.com. The Stuttering Foundation of America is a tax-
doctoral students only. To subscribe, send the follow-
exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of
ing message to listserv@listserv.temple.edu: “subscribe Understanding Stuttering by Nathan Lavid. 2003. Uni-
the Internal Revenue Code and is classified as
stutterdoc firstname lastname” or contact Joe Donaher versity Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS. Order from
a private operating foundation as defined in
at turtlecraw@aol.com. bookstores or amazon.com. section 4942(j)(3). Charitable contributions and
For those interested in joining Toastmasters Inter- Programmed Stuttering Therapy for Children and Adults bequests to the Foundation are tax-
national as a way to improve fluency, communication by Bruce Ryan, Ph.D. Available through publisher Charles deductible, subject to limitations under the Code.
or public speaking skills, their address is: Toastmas- C. Thomas or online at www.amazon.com
ters International, Inc., Attention: Membership De- Making a Difference for America’ Children: SLPs in the
THE
partment, P.O. Box 9052, Mission Viejo, CA 92690, Public Schools by Barbara Moore-Brown and Judy Mont-
Telephone: (714) 858-8255; Fax: (714) 858-1207. gomery. Available from Thinking Publications, Eau Claire, STUTTERING
WI. 715-832-2488.
Ben Has Something To Say by Laurie Lears, illustrations
FOUNDATION
You can give online by Karen Ritz. A book for children ages 5-9. Albert Whit-
A Nonprofit Organization
Since 1947 — Helping Those Who Stutter
You can make a one-time donation or man & Co., Morton Grove, IL. 800-255-7675.
3100 Walnut Grove Road, Suite 603
set up monthly and quarterly recurring Sharing the Journey: Lessons from my Students and
P.O. Box 11749 ● Memphis, TN 38111-0749
Clients with Tangled Tongues by Lon Emerick, Ph.D.,
gifts by clicking on the Dona-
available from North Country Publishing, 355 Heidtman
tion tab or Make A Gift at 1-800-992-9392 ● 1-800-967-7700
Road, Skandia, MI 49885, for $13.95 plus $2. postage and
www.stutteringhelp.org. handling, call toll-free 1-866-942-7898; or from the Stut- www.stutteringhelp.org www.tartamudez.org
You can donate with a credit card or tering Foundation at 800-992-9392. ❑ info@stutteringhelp.org
your checking account. ❑